Witches Wizards Shadows and Souls
by Mei1105
Summary: A new power is terrorising the wizards. Voldemort now wields a magic ten thousand years old. And there's only a few people in the world who know how to beat it. Meanwhile, a failed attack in Domino City brings some unwanted attention. SEQUEL UP!
1. Chapter 1: Play Time

**Disclaimer: **YuGiOh is copyrighted Kazuki Takahashi. Harry Potter is copyrighted JK Rowling. I own nothing.

**Summary: **YGOHP crossover. The Dark Lord has a new weapon. But it's not the Millennium Items. Are all the soulless bodies the result of Dementors or something far more sinister? Meanwhile, Yugi and his friends are caught up in the Wizarding Worlds struggle, and are forced to face a threat that they thought had gone for good.

Mindlinks

/Hikari to Yami/

//Yami to Hikari//

* * *

**Chapter 1: Play Time**

The glow cast on the dark stone walls seemed to pulse like some kind of eerie heartbeat. The room was quiet save for the breaths of the humans present there. No living animal dared to enter this place, for it was currently seeped in evil and dark magic, thousands of years old. Even the wind, which usually whistled between the cracks in the stone walls of the building seemed to have fallen silent.

No normal human would dare enter this place, even without the cold desolate feeling that it now seemed to radiate. No one would have a reason to go there. It had been abandoned years ago, remaining the speculation of all who lived in the nearby village. Only two years ago, when the gardener had been found dead inside, had anyone last paid any attention to it. It was the perfect hideout for those present, now clustered in basement.

Anyone present would have thought a religious cult was in session. In the middle of the room, six robed figures stood before a raised chair. Each of them was covered and masked from head to toe. In the chair, a seventh figure smirked, before waving one pale, skeletal hand, lazily at the door, dismissing the six before him. Their work was done. They had their orders, and now that they knew all that this new power could do, it was time to stop testing. Now, it was time to start using it for their cause.

The figures bowed simultaneously before backing away towards the door, their heads still low as a show of deference. Each of them moved swiftly, and though they were not visible under their masks, each one of them smirked with an eerie kind of satisfaction. From beneath each of their cloaks, a small green light pulsed from a stone, each one hung on the end of a fine silver chain.

The figure in the chair gave a satisfied chuckle that would have raised the hairs of anyone present. At his feet, a snake curled into a sleeping ball, like some demented loyal dog. The man leaned back in his chair, caressing a stone the size of a small tennis ball.

The rock glowed a vibrant green, and on the man's forehead, a six pointed star branded itself into white skin, causing the slit like red eyes to glow menacingly.

OOO

**Daily Prophet**

**21****st**** August**

**Soul Stealing in Southampton**

_Barely hours ago, the Ministry confirmed the deaths of three wizards and seven muggles all of them within a ten mile radius of one another. The victims were discovered in comatose states, and upon further investigation, the St Mungo's healers, who were called to the scene to assist, diagnosed all of the victims as soulless._

_The Ministry suspects the deaths to be the work of Dementors, and say that all the victims showed symptoms of receiving the Dementors Kiss. The Dementors were confirmed by the Ministry two months ago to now be working for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, a fact which was bought to light after the Death Eaters infiltrated and attacked the Ministry of Magic. Many people within the Ministry believe these Dementor attacks to be another terror attack by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named._

_The first victim, found outside Southampton Central Train Station was discovered at 1:49AM yesterday morning by – _Continues on page 3

OOO

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away from the darkness that gripped Britain, a small group of teenagers were gathered in Domino Park. People strolled leisurly down the pathways, occasionally overtaken by cyclists or people on rollerblades. Children shrieked and laughed with joy in the playground, and there was the occasional dull thud of a football being kicked around. It was the middle of summer though, so the sun was beating down fiercely, causing most of the people to seek shade in the trees. This was exactly what the group was doing now.

"Can we please go yet?"

"No Joey, we're still missing two more people,"

"But Yug'! It's boiling! The arcade has air conditioning, remember? Nice cold air that won't burn your skin clean off?"

The spiky haired King of Games shook his head firmly. "Yami asked them to come so we're going to wait for them."

Joey Wheeler threw his hands up in frustration. He really really did not want to see one of the people they were waiting for. But if that was what Yugi wanted, then he would just have to put up with it. Behind him, Tea Gardner and Tristan Taylor suppressed their laughter at the sight of their friend's reaction. Leaning against a tree, Ryou Bakura shared a smile with Yugi. The white haired boy was careful to stand out of the sun so that his scalp would not burn.

"He's probably not going to show up anyway, you realise," Joey began again. "What on Earth made Yami think that he would leave his office to come and hang around with us…GAH! Malik don't do that ya psycho!"

The platinum blonde head that had just popped out of the tree above them, scaring Joey out of his wits, laughed loudly, before dropping to the ground gracefully. He was the only one in the group who looked quite at home in the blazing hot sun, no surprise considering he was bought up in Egypt. Yugi mentally rolled his eyes, and in the back of his mind he could hear the sound of his darker half chuckling.

"You know I was quite happy waiting another two weeks until we get back to school before I saw Rich Boy again…"

"Okay Joey we get it," Tea sighed. "You don't want to see Kaiba."

"God damn right I don't!" the blonde nodded furiously.

"Even after he helped us in the fight against Dartz?" Yugi asked.

"Even after that!" Joey said. "He's rude to us, he insults us…"

"They're here," Ryou interrupted, pointing behind Joey. The blonde stopped talking immediately and whirled around.

Approaching the group, was a boy of twelve years old, whose dark blue eyes were currently adopting a pleading look which could have reduced even the most cold hearted person to a smile. His companion was taller and had a scowl fixed firmly on his face, as though he couldn't quite believe he was there.

"Hey guys!" the shorter said, beaming a smile powerful enough to supply energy to a small town for a few weeks.

"Hi Mokuba," everyone responded on cue.

"Hey Kaiba," Yugi said politely. The CEO nodded courteously at his arch rival before rounding on his little brother.

"You dragged me out of the office just to meet the geek squad?"

You mean you didn't tell him where you were going?" Malik asked, grinning.

"Nice one Mokuba!" Joey said. "Who knew you could be so sneaky!"

"Hey I can be sneaky!" Mokuba said, folding his arms and scowling adorably before turning back to Seto.

"Come on big brother! Just for one hour! Consider it a lunch break."

"Its three twenty five in the afternoon," Joey pointed out.

"A late lunch break," Mokuba amended impatiently. "You don't get nearly enough fresh air, and you could use an hour away from all that work."

Kaiba looked quite ready to ignore his brother's wishes and leave, but Mokuba's eyes suddenly fixed on his and began to tear up.

"Please Seto!" he begged.

Seto tore his eyes away from his little brother, knowing that if he kept contact with them he would not be able to say no. Mokuba however had that covered, wrapping his arms around his big brothers waist, resting his head against his stomach, and looking up at him with heart wrenching adorability.

"Please?"

"Mokuba…" Seto growled, feeling his resistance crumbling slowly.

"Please?" the boy tried again, his lower lip trembling, making Seto feel like he had just kicked a poor defenceless puppy.

"He's doomed," Malik summarised. "I used to use those eyes on Ishizu all the time."

"…alright! But one hour only!"

"Thank you big brother!" Mokuba beamed, squeezing his brother's middle before jumping back with his million watt smile firmly back in place.

"Okay let's go! You said something about the arcade on the phone Yugi?"

The person in question nodded, and the group began to make their way through the park. Mokuba skipped along ahead of them, occasionally making jokes with Joey and laughing at Malik. Tea and Tristan walked together, discussing their impending return to school in two weeks. Ryou just walked along quietly and thoughtfully as he always did, with Yugi close by. Kaiba lingered in the back, looking distinctly grumpy and Kaiba-ish as he always did.

Yugi looked skyward upon instinct. Everything seemed so peaceful. As they passed the playground, the sounds of children enjoying the sun reached the group. It was nice hanging out like this, yet at the back of his mind, Yugi suddenly felt a prickling of unease. It was too calm. Being the owner of a Millennium Item meant that life was supposed to be hectic. Maybe he was just paranoid after living in danger for so long.

//_You're not paranoid Aibou//_

Yugi tuned out the sounds of the happy children, and directed all his attention towards his other half.

/_What's wrong Yami?/_

_//I can sense something dark approaching//_

_/Quite sure its not just Bakura you're sensing?/ _Yugi asked, but he was on alert anyway. When his darker half sensed something he was usually right.

//_No, this is stronger, and yet there is something about it that is…familiar…//_

_/In what way?/_

_//A bad way// _the Pharaoh replied. //_Maybe we should…//_

But what Yami thought would have to wait for now. The shrieks and laughter of the children in the playground was punctuated by a series of loud cracking noises, that sounded suspiciously like firecrackers. Ten figures had appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the playground. Despite the heat of the day, they were all dressed in heavy looking black cloaks. Their faces were hidden behind masks, and Yugi got a chill as he realised that the masks had been designed to look like skulls.

//_Aibou I don't like the looks of this, I'm taking over!//_

Yugi gave a mental nod, as he felt himself become detached from his body. Those who were watching would have thought that Yugi had suffered a sudden growth spurt as his other half took control of the body not a minute too soon.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Kaiba, who in this short space of time had managed to formulate his own conclusions about the people who had just appeared out of thin air, grabbed his little brother by the scruff of his shirt and pulled him to the floor, whilst yelling an order at the rest of the group.

"Duck!"

Everyone dropped to the ground as jets of green light began to fly around the park. The childish laughter that had filled the playground became screams of fear and pain, as everyone began to run for their lives.

"They're casting magic!" Yami gasped, as a six year old boy was caught in the blast. He slumped against the playground fence, motionless. The Pharaoh's rage grew as he realised that no life beat within the child anymore.

"They're killing them!" Tea gasped, covering her mouth in horror.

"We can see that!" Malik said, pulling the Millennium Rod out from his back pocket.

//_Landlord!//_

_/What Bakura? I'm a little busy here!/_

_//Well aren't you snippy? Get into your soul room!//_

_/Worried about me?/ _Ryou thought, but he complied. He knew if he didn't go quietly, his yami would force him out of control the hard way.

//_You wish// _the thief snorted. //_I just haven't had a good fight in ages//_

Ryou rolled his eyes before retreating. Bakura smirked as he took control.

"They don't look too friendly do they?" he asked casually. Yami turned to glare at him, but he didn't have enough time to reprimand the thief as another killing curse shot over their heads.

"Cower at our feet muggles!" the cloaked figure cackled, though of course, since he was speaking English, only Ryou, Bakura, Joey, Seto and Mokuba could understand what he was saying. "Avada Kedavra!"

Yami was the first to react, reaching for a card in his pocket and praying to all the Gods that it was the right one. The Millennium Puzzle flashed and a bright shining shield sprung up in front of them. The attack was reflected and bounced back at the stunned Death Eater, who just stood there, mouth open in shock as the spell crashed into them and put an end to their life.

Yami grimaced. The Mirror Force trap card he had pulled from his deck had reflected the spell right back at its caster. He didn't like taking life. Sure when he had first been released from the Puzzle he hadn't had any qualms about sending people into their own personal hell when they lost Shadow Games. He was a kinder spirit now. But still, these people had threatened his Aibou and his friends and he could not let that happen.

"Nice idea," Malik said gratefully, as the group got to their feet. Unfortunately, the falling of a comrade had caused the other robed assassins to stop what they were doing and stare at the group. No one could survive a killing curse, so how had these people, not only blocked it, but redirected it right back at them?!

Bellatrix Lestranges stepped forwards. She was livid. She was in charge of this little hunting group and she would not have anyone ruin their fun, especially not some muggles who though they could fight back. She smirked to herself. Maybe now would be the best time to show off their new secret weapon.

The nine remaining Death Eaters circled the group. Realising that they were stuck, Yami squared his jaw. They were going to have to fight their way out of this. And if these people were going to use magic, then they would too. Most people had fled the park or had been taken down already, so there was little chance of being spotted.

"Malik, Bakura, lend your magic to Tea and Tristan. We need to summon our monsters if we're going to get out of this."

"I don't take orders from you Pharaoh!" Bakura snapped. Yami did not retort. He didn't have time to argue with the thief now. He would just have to hope that Bakura was smart enough to realise that they would not be able to get out of this unless they worked together. He pulled another card from his deck.

"I summon Dark Magician (2500/2100)!"

The puzzle glowed and next to the Pharaoh, a tall man in long purple robes appeared, clutching a green staff. He scowled at the surrounding enemy.

"Joey, summon your Red Eyes," Yami ordered. "I will provide the energy for you."

Joey nodded and reached for his own cards. A second later, his signature monster, the Red Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000) appeared, roaring towards the sky. Joey grinned.

"My turn!" Malik said, looking gleeful at the idea of a fight. "I summon Revival Jam (1500/500)!"

A small blue blob, with markings vaguely resembling eyes and a mouth, appeared in front of the Egyptian. Malik nodded to Tristan, who took the hint.

"I play Super Roboyarou (1200/500)!"

A warrior dressed in blue armour and carrying a long double ended sword materialised next.

"Dark Necrofear (2200/2800), come forth!" Bakura commanded. A blue skinned woman with purple armour and a doll nestled in her arms emerged. Bakura nodded at Tea, and the brunette took this to mean that he would help her.

"I summon Fire Sorcerer (1000/1500)!"

A young girl wearing a black dress and cap appeared, conjuring a ball of fire in the palm of her hand as she did.

"Kaiba, you too!" Yami ordered. The CEO snorted.

"You think a few holograms are going to scare them?"

"They seem to be so far!" Tea pointed out. Sure enough, the Death Eaters had been stunned into temporary silence at the sight of all these strange creatures.

"Kaiba just do it! We need your help! Call out your Blue Eyes! We will lend power to you and Mokuba so you can protect yourselves."

Kaiba gritted his teeth. "I don't need your help Yugi…"

He trailed off. Bellatrix had apparently snapped out of her stupor enough to try casting a spell at the only unprotected members of the group.

"Revival Jam! Shield them from harm!" Malik commanded. The monster jumped in the way of the approaching attack, and exploded into a sticky mess. Malik yelped, as the attack still hurt him, but his monster quickly reformed itself. The Kaiba brothers stood up slowly.

"That's it! No one tries to hurt my little brother and gets away with it!" Kaiba raged, pulling out his deck. "I summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)!"

Another dragon, this one with white scales and blue eyes, materialised next to Joey's Red Eyes.

"Don't forget me!" Mokuba said, pulling his own cards out of his pocket. "I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 (1600/1000)!"

A silvery grey dragon, with a metallic sheen to its scales appeared and settled next to Mokuba.

Bellatrix smirked, fishing for a chain around her neck.

"You think your pathetic creatures will be enough to save you all?! Just wait! Witness true power! _Quod vala de ku vestrum animus_!"

She gripped the stone at the end of the chain and instantly a powerful green glow appeared, shining so brightly that it was visible even to the duellists standing thirty feet away. A green column of light engulfed her, stretching upwards into the sky further than anyone could see. Everyone but Bakura and Malik gasped with realisation.

"This can't be!" Yami cried out.

Bellatrix let out a yell of rage, and the light burst from her body, forming a circle that surrounded the duellists and Death Eaters. A six pointed star branded itself into the ground, identical to the one now imprinting itself on Bellatrix's forehead.

"It's the Seal of Orichalcos!" Joey shouted.

"We can see that Mutt!" Kaiba retorted, but he looked just as shaken as the rest of them did.

"What is this thing?" Malik demanded.

"It's bad news!" Tea said. They had never got around to telling Malik and Ryou the events of the Orichalcos crisis, and now they were all seriously regretting it.

"Simply put, it takes the losers soul," Tristan filled in. Malik's frown deepened. Bakura however laughed menacingly.

"So it's just like a Shadow Game! Perfect!"

"With this power under our command," Bellatrix said, her eyes glinting with the mad anger of the Orichalcos, "your souls shall soon belong to the Dark Lord!"

"Yeah! Well we'll just see about that!" Joey yelled at them. Behind him, Yami growled fiercely, his patience having finally run out.

"Dark Magician! Attack!"

"Help em out Red Eyes!" Joey shouted. The Magician charged a Death Eater, while another found the dragon bearing down upon him.

"Dark Magic Attack!"

"Inferno Fire Blast!"

The two robed menaces fell to the ground with the impact of the attacks. Everyone else took the hint and began ordering their monsters to attack.

"Blue Eyes, attack their leader!" Kaiba ordered. The dragon roared and a ball of white magical energy was charged in her jaws. Bellatrix sneered.

"Nice try!"

She muttered something and brandished her wand, causing a shield to appear in front of her just as the White Lightning attack hit. The shield was shattered, but Bellatrix avoided any damage.

"_Crucio!"_

Kaiba was caught unaware, and the curse hit him full force. Though he did not cry out, he fell to his knees, clutching his heart, sweat trickling down his temples.

"Seto!" Mokuba screamed, before turning to look at his brother's tormentor. "Horus attack with Dark Dragon Flame Blast!"

The dragon roared and blasted Bellatrix, who was not expecting such a quick retaliation. She flew back through the air and landed several feet away. On the ground, Kaiba suddenly found himself able to move again, though his limbs screamed in pain as he stood.

"Big brother, are you alright?" Mokuba asked.

"I'll be fine," Kaiba snapped, glaring at the Death Eater, who was getting to her feet again.

"You will pay for that you little brat!" she spat, glaring at Mokuba. Before she could do anything however, another loud series of cracks appeared and another group of people appeared, outside the Seal.

They were just as bizarrely dressed as their attackers. Most of them wore long robes, of various colours and designs. The oldest member, who also appeared to be the leader, was by far the strangest. He looked to be well over a century old, yet at the same time he seemed to have a powerful and commanding aura about him.

One of the newcomers fired a spell at the Seal of Orichalcos, only for it to be absorbed harmlessly.

"Albus what sort of magic is this?" the caster asked. The leader frowned at the apparition, before looking past it at the battle that was going on inside.

What he in fact saw, was Red Eyes and Blue Eyes both charging up for an attack on Bellatrix Lestranges, while Mokuba, Tea and Tristan kept the other Death Eaters off their backs. Yami and Bakura were locked in their own battles.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Dark Magician pushed his master to the ground as the curse just missed by inches. Malik's Revival Jam once again, took the blast and the boy winced again. Bakura hurried to his side.

"Dark Necrofear! Send these pathetic mortals to the Shadow Realm! Doomed to Death Gaze!"

The terrifying fiend glared at the three Death Eaters that surrounded them and in a blast of magic, they were vaporised on the spot.

"Thanks," Malik gasped out. He was a little winded from blocking so many attacks.

"Whatever," the Tomb Robber shrugged, turning just in time to watch Fire Sorcerer torch a Death Eater behind them. "Five down, five to go!"

Malik did not have time to reply, as he was bowled over by Bellatrix, who had leaped backwards in an attempt to get away from Mokuba. The raven haired boy seemed quite determined to get back at her for inflicting such pain on Seto. She jumped away from Malik, who scowled at her angrily. Mokuba interrupted before he could do anything.

"Horus attack!"

The dragon happily obeyed, sending a blast of black flame at the Death Eater. Bellatrix shielded again, deflecting the blast easily. Before Mokuba could order another attack, the Death Eater jumped back to her feet and made a slashing motion with her wand. The spell crashed against Horus, who howled and collapsed to the ground. Mokuba fell to his knees, clutching his chest.

"Mokuba!" Seto was furious. "Blue Eyes! Attack that woman again!"

Bellatrix's shield was once again shattered, causing her to fly backwards and slam into the opposite side of the Seal, a fact that the calculating CEO was quick to notice. Maybe if enough of them attacked her at once, she would not be able to retaliate. For now, he had to get Mokuba away from her. With Horus unable to fight back, his little brother was defenceless.

"Kaiba! Is Mokuba okay?" Yami asked, hurrying to his rival's side. He had seen the younger boy fall and, with Dark Magician guarding his back, he had hurried to see if he could help. The Mage pointed his staff at Bellatrix, who was getting back on her feet.

"I'm fine," Mokuba mumbled. Behind him, Horus had staggered to his feet, and was stumbling over to his master's side.

"I have a plan Yugi," Seto said, making sure to speak Japanese so none of their attackers could pick it up. "If we take out the one with the Orichalcos branded on her head the Seal may vanish."

Yami nodded understanding. He had noticed that the Seal was giving the woman who had cast it a distinct advantage in terms of speed strength and endurance. He guessed it was like in Duel Monsters when the Seal provided monsters with extra attack strength.

"The strongest of us should attack her together," he summarised.

He looked around. Their friends were facing off against the remaining four Death Eaters. Tea and Tristan's monsters were battling two of them, with Bakura and Joey holding off the other two. Malik was shielding them from any harm, whilst ordering his monster to aid the others when he had a chance.

"Joey! Bakura! We need your help!" Yami shouted. Bakura did not acknowledge him, but this could have been because Dark Necrofear had just been hit with 'flippendo' spell, causing her to fly backwards into her master. Joey however, did hear his friend and turned towards them. His eyes went wide upon seeing Mokuba and his dragon on the ground, with Dark Magician fending off Bellatrix.

"What do you need?" Joey asked, as Red Eyes blasted one of the Death Eaters into unconsciousness. He tried to help Bakura too his feet, but the thief brushed him off.

"I'm fine Wheeler! What does his Highness want?"

Yami raced to his friends, trusting that Seto and Dark Magician would be able to protect Mokuba.

"We need to attack the one who played the Seal of Orichalcos, but it's making her too powerful to do alone. We need to attack her together. You two, Seto and I have the strongest monsters."

"Sounds like a plan!" Joey said. Bakura just grunted, which Yami took to mean that he would help. But as he turned to signal to Kaiba to attack, there was an ear piercing scream from Tea. She and Fire Sorcerer were on the ground, writhing as one of the Death Eaters hit the Duel Monster with the Cruciatus curse. The second Death Eater still standing took the chance of distraction to blast Super Roboyarou into the wall of the Seal. Tristan doubled over in pain.

"Tea! Tristan!" Joey shouted in panic. "Red Eyes! Attack that guy!"

His dragon roared and sent a blast of crimson coloured flame towards the man. The Death Eater however, removed the curse and blocked the attack with another shield. Tea and Fire Sorcerer stopped screaming but neither of them looked capable of moving just yet. Yami suspected it was only Kaiba's amazing physical and mental strength that had enabled him to stay moving after he had been hit.

Revival Jam ploughed into the Death Eater, knocking him into the other.

"I'll protect them! You help the Kaiba's!" Malik ordered. He could tell from the looks in Yami and Joey's eyes that they had a plan. Yami nodded in thanks at the same time, a streak of white lightning blasted over their heads and knocked one of the Death Eaters unconscious.

"Can we get on with this please?!" Kaiba yelled impatiently. Yami didn't have to follow his gaze to know that Dark Magician was tiring against Bellatrix.

"Malik's handling it," Bakura said, noting that the only remaining Death Eater aside from the one who had cast the Seal was being slammed into by the plasma monster. "Let's get rid of this Seal-thingy."

For once, Yami found himself agreeing with the thief.

"Dark Magician attack the woman!"

"You too Red Eyes!"

"Dark Necrofear attack!"

"Blue Eyes, White Lightning!"

The four attacks were blasted out simultaneously. Bellatrix's shield cracked and shattered under the impact of Dark Necrofear's gaze, and the other three attacks slammed into her from all sides, leaving her slumped on the ground, unconscious and Seal free. Around them, the glowing green aura began to shrink, dividing into five miniature seals which surrounded the unconscious Death Eaters who had not been vaporised. There were a few unconscious screams of agony as their souls were drained from their bodies.

"Revival Jam, finish this last guy off!" Malik ordered. The plasma monster threw itself into the last remaining Death Eater, who flew backwards into a tree with a nasty crack. Malik winced.

"Whoops! I think I cracked his skull!" he didn't sound sorry at all. In fact he sounded like he was fighting the urge to laugh. It didn't last long however. Now that the fight was over, the fatigue began to catch up with everyone.

"I think we should dismiss the monsters," Bakura suggested, wiping the sweat from his brow. Yami nodded, and Dark Magician vanished. He sank to the floor, exhausted. His hands were trembling with fatigue and he could see he was not the only one. Shadow Magic had a tendancy to drain the user, if performed outside of a Shadow Game. Only practise overcame this handicap, and it was far too dangerous to perform magic in the middle of Japan just for the sake of strengthening it. One by one, everyone else began saying goodbye to their creatures, Malik and Bakura also sitting down to stop the world from spinning hideously.

Albus Dumbledore had seen a great many strange things in his life, but this one definitely took the cake. Eight teenagers with the power to summon strange creatures? He had never seen such magic. He knew he had to find out more. While the rest of the Order of the Phoenix began moving about to bind and check the unconscious Death Eaters, he motioned to Remus Lupin and Kingsly Shacklebolt to follow him as he approached the group. He saw that they all looked exhausted. Presumably their magic took a lot out of them.

"Seto!" Mokuba cried out in alarm, spotting the three approaching figures. Everyone's heads snapped around and Yami reacted without thinking.

"Swords of Revealing Light!"

His yell startled the approaching wizards, but not as much as the cage of illuminating swords did when they crashed from the sky and stopped them dead in their tracks. The wizards who had been tending the Death Eaters, rushed to help immediately.

"We're fine!" Dumbledore reassured his comrades before any of them could stun the teenagers.

"You idiot!" Bakura snapped at the Pharaoh. "You're too tired to be casting more spells!"

"Don't lecture me!" Yami snapped back, but he knew he was right. He was fading fast and he would have to let Yugi back in control soon. But not until they were safely away from the park. He didn't trust any of these people and he would not let his Aibou back out until he was sure that he would be safe.

"We mean you no harm," Dumbledore called out to them, making sure to speak Japanese so he could be understood. His words did little to reassure the group. They had three turns to get away from the park before the spell wore off. Yami, Bakura and Malik were especially weak as they had been the ones to supply the magic, not only for their monsters, but for their friends too.

"Let's go," Seto ordered. He had no desire to stay here any longer than necessary. He had enough energy to keep his mask on and he certainly had more than Yugi seemed to have. He marched over to the Pharaoh and pulled his shorter rival to his feet, offering an arm as support. Yami thanked him, only to receive a grunt in recognition.

"How did you stop all those Death Eaters?" Remus asked. "What were those creatures?"

"None of your damn business!" Bakura snapped, but it lacked the usual force his voice had. "Ra my head hurts…"

Joey hurried to scoop the albino up, and this time, Bakura did not complain. He had no illusions about leaving the park on his own in this state.

"Who are you all?" Dumbledore tried again. Malik was helped up by Tristan, and a still shaking Tea. Seto pulled his little brother up with his free arm, and helped the boy to walk away. The swords began to flicker and fade. Turning his head back as they left, Yami fixed his crimson eyes on the aging wizard.

"You never saw us," he said firmly, before he allowed Kaiba to half carry, half drag him away.

As they left the park, the swords vanished and the three wizards found themselves able to move again.

"Albus, what kind of magic was that?" Remus asked, his voice quiet with slight wonder.

"Alas Remus, I wish I knew," the headmaster replied.

"Albus," an aged auror with a wooden leg and an electric blue eye limped over. "Higgins says that five of the Death Eaters are soulless."

Dumbledore frowned at Moody's statement. No spell he knew of could remove a person's soul. The only creature that could do that was a Dementor. His thoughts flashed back to the strange green shield that had kept them from entering the battle. Something strange and never seen before was going on here, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. For now however, there were other more important matters to attend to.

"I think we should hand the Death Eaters over and return to headquarters," the headmaster said. "This is something we should discuss with everyone else. And we need to track those eight down. They could be a great help to us if we can find them."

OOO

**A/N: **Woo! Look at me! I'm jumping on the crossover bandwagon!

Okay I wanted to do a crossover fic for a while, but I decided I couldn't wait any longer. This is my summer project, and I'm posting today because I just got back from holiday and found out that I've passed my first year of Uni. Yay!

And as far as I'm aware, this is the only YGOHP crossover that features the Orichalcos. All the ones I've read have involved the Shadow Realm. But don't worry, there will be plenty of that too!

This is post OotP, KC Championships and Capsule Monsters. I'm mostly following the anime as that's what I'm most familiar with, but some things from the manga and season 0 will be added in when I see fit. Events like Death T and Monster World happened and Yami was psychotic when he was first released from the Puzzle.

There will be duels in later chapter! Yay!

Unlike my previous stories, my updates will not be regular. They will be up as often as I have the time, will power and motivation to write.

People who review will be given hugs!

People who give constructive criticism will be sent cookies!

People who flame will be laughed at!


	2. Chapter 2: Researching a King

**Disclaimer: **I don't own YuGiOh or Harry Potter. I wish I did, but I don't.

**Chapter 2: Researching a King**

The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix was rarely a quiet place. Its only permanent resident, Remus Lupin knew just how true this was. Even without Kreacher stumbling around the building muttering curses under his breath, you had to contend with Mrs Black's portrait, which still stubbornly clung to the wall of the hallway. And then there was the sheer size of the Order, which now stretched to well over sixty people.

It was for this reason, that Remus was now sitting at the kitchen table holding his head and wondering how on Earth they were going to achieve anything when everyone was arguing like this. He had moved into the Headquarters over the summer, having little elsewhere to stay. He knew that if he continued living at his registered address, the Death Eaters would surely come knocking, if not to try and recruit him, then to get him out of the way. On the other hand, he mused, fighting off a group of Death Eaters was starting to sound appealing compared to sitting in this noisy room when he already had a headache. Plus he had a lot of pent up anger and frustration that he wanted to take out on someone. Since his best friends passing last June, things had been going steadily downhill for the werewolf.

A hand squeezed his arm, and he turned to see the sympathetic eyes of Nymphadora Tonks. He smiled wearily back at her at the same time that a set of purple firecrackers exploded from the end of Dumbledore's wand and everyone in the kitchen fell silent.

The reason for the emergency meeting was regarding the Death Eater attack that day. The attack had reached the Aurors three minutes after it had begun, and after some pinpointing, the location had been verified as Domino City, Japan. The location was not unusual in itself, for the ex-Minster for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, was visiting the Japanese Ministry as an envoy for the new British Minister, Rufus Scrimgeour. He had been scheduled to take a portkey back to Britain that day, but the evening before there had been more reports of Death Eaters intercepting portkeys and torturing the travellers to death. There had been similar problems with the floo network recently, as heads in fires could be snatched up easily. And as every witch or wizard of age knew, apperating across continents was difficult and dangerous.

Because of this, Fudge had decided to remain in Japan for a few extra days until they were sure he could get home safely. Of course the Death Eaters it seemed had taken it upon themselves to remind Fudge that he was not safe even on the other side of the globe, by heading to Japan and attacking a town not too far from where he was staying. It also alarmed the Japanese Ministry, who were worried about who Voldemort would target next after he had finished with Britain.

So the location of the attack had not surprised the Order of the Phoenix. What was unusual was that the attack had somehow failed, and all the Death Eaters had wound up with their souls gone, much in a manner of the Dementors Kiss. Remus had been there, and he had already guessed that it had something to do with the giant green shield that had prevented the Aurors and the members of the Order of the Phoenix from getting in. The question perplexing all of them was, what kind of magic could strip the very thing that made a human who he was, and for what purpose? Even Dumbledore was clueless, and that did not happen very often.

The present, and slightly more pressing concern, was the eight teenagers who had single-handedly fought off the Death Eaters using their own type of unknown magic. There were debates flying around the kitchen table as to who they were, what their magic could do and primarily, whether or not they could be trusted.

It was on this subject that Dumbledore now spoke. He waved his wand, and an image rose out of the pensive that was placed in the middle of the table. The headmaster was using it to play back the images of the attack so that the Order members who had not been there could witness the strange phenomenon's first hand.

"Whether or not these wizards…if indeed they are wizards, can be trusted at this moment is moot point. Our concern should be finding them and learning more about them. They could become valuable members of the Order if they were to join us. Not to mention that when Voldemort –" there was a collective shiver around the table, " – finds out about this he will undoubtedly want to recruit them for himself."

"Albus they tried to attack us when you approached them last time!" Moody reminded him.

"I'm aware of that Alastor," Dumbledore assured his old friend. "However I believe their intention was merely to stall us so they could leave, not to harm us. If they meant us harm I am sure we would not be here right now. And in any case, I noted that their magic seems to drain a lot of their physical energy, so I would guess that they could not have gone far. They may indeed live in the surrounding town."

"Professor," someone spoke up loudly. His name was Martin Higgins and he was a muggle-born, as well as a Medi-wizard for St Mungo's. Throughout most of the conversation, he had been staring at the memory in the pensive squinting at the picture. He had missed most of the fight, tending instead to the injured people in the park. "Can you rewind this memory? Just a few seconds back."

Dumbledore tapped the image and it started to shoot backwards through time. Higgin's held up his hand and the memory resumed normal play.

"Any theories on how that shield took all their souls?" Professor McGonagall asked briskly. Higgin's shook his head.

"No that's still a mystery to me, however…I'm pretty sure I recognise one…maybe two of those people…"

Dumbledore waved his wand again and image froze. Higgin's pointed at one of the figures.

"Difficult to tell with the green shield in the way, but I'm pretty sure that spiky haired guy is Yugi Mutou. And that guy with the white trench coat looks like Seto Kaiba…and I'm sure I saw their trademark monsters when we arrived…"

"When you feel like explaining it to the rest of us," Moody invited. The Medi-wizard bowed his head in apology.

"Sorry. My son plays a muggle card game called Duel Monsters. It's pretty big in Japan and the US. It hasn't become quite as popular here as it has oversees. I'm pretty sure Mutou is the World Champion. It certainly looks his hairstyle. Kaiba is the CEO of Kaiba Corp, a company that specialises in games, particularly Duel Monsters. And if I remember correctly, both of them grew up in that very town that the Death Eaters attacked today!"

A few people sat up straighter in their chairs. It was certainly a very good lead. Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"Martin would your son be able to positively identify these two people? Today if possible?"

"Certainly," the man nodded. "He would love an excuse to tell me about his heroes. I could go now and be back within the hour."

Dumbledore nodded in approval and Higgin's took that he was dismissed, and hurried out of the door, closing it quietly to ensure that he did not wake up Mrs Black.

"When Martin returns we shall hopefully know more about these people and the attack today. For now, we should concentrate on the spell that repelled us today…"

OOO

Meanwhile, in a small two story building in Domino City, another group were having a similar conversation.

"Here Ryou, bottoms up," Joey said sportingly, handing over a glass of water and packet of Anadin. The white haired male smiled at his friend.

"Cheers Joey," he said gratefully, downing two of the pills and the water in one go. He, Yugi and Malik had all been left with splitting headaches after the fight. Ryou was thankful that his seemed to be easing somewhat. Yugi was lying back on the sofa, with Yami at his feet in spirit form. The Pharaoh looked rather washed out and both the tricolour haired males spiky locks seemed to sag in exhaustion. They all agreed that had been one intense fight.

There was a shuffling sound, and Solomon Mutou, Yugi's Grandfather came in from the kitchen, carrying a tea tray. Yugi, remembering his manners, got up slowly and began to serve everyone.

"I swear you kids can't go five minutes without getting yourselves into trouble," Solomon remarked, his voice holding a tinge of sadness. He knew that trouble was something that followed the bearers of the Items around like a loyal puppy.

"Ah I dunno Gramps, we've actually been pretty good this summer," Joey remarked. Behind him, Tristan raised an eyebrow.

"Joey do the words, Capsule Monsters and Alexander the Great ring any bells?"

The blonde duellist looked sheepish, and there was a snort from the other side of the room. Kaiba had taken one of the armchairs, and Mokuba was curled up in his lap. Solomon shot the businessman a look as he left the room. He had never really forgiven Kaiba for ripping up his Blue Eyes White Dragon. Yugi however was slightly curious as to why the brothers had not returned to their own home instead of coming to the Game Shop with them. However, the shop was closer than Kaiba's mansion was, and he guessed that the CEO wanted answers more than he wanted to leave their presence.

"You got something to say Rich Boy?" Joey challenged, his fight starting to come back.

"Give it a rest you two!" Yami said sternly, before remembering that only those with Millennium Items could see him (he had never bothered to ask Kaiba whether he could see him in spirit form, knowing that his rival hated anyone insinuating anything that could prove his past life). He heard Yugi nod mentally and he immediately took over.

"We can't spend our time fighting with each other. What we need to do is figure out who those people were."

"And what they were doing with the Orichalcos!" Joey put in.

"What is the Orichalcos?" Malik asked, from where he lay on the floor of the room with his head against the sofa. "I get that it was that giant green thing that caged us in during the fight, but what exactly is it? It felt dark like the Shadow Realm, but at the same time…not like the Shadow Realm."

"It is in a sense," Yami said. "The Shadows and the Orichalcos are essentially both sources of dark magic, but the Orichalcos is older. It's been around for ten thousand years, since the time of Atlantis. It works by bringing out the darkness of a persons heart and feeding off it. The Seal is used to take people's souls."

"Is that what that thing that surrounded us was?" Malik asked. "The Seal?"

Yami nodded. "The Seal of Orichalcos is also a Duel Monster card."

"Do you remember at the beginning of last term we all disappeared from school for a few weeks?" Tea asked, sipping her tea. Malik nodded and Ryou's eyes lit up.

"I remember! That was the week that those monsters appeared in the city!"

"That was related to us," Joey nodded. "We had to beat off these guys who were using the Seal to take people's souls and free this giant snake they called the Great Leviathan. That's the nutshell version."

"How does the Seal take a persons soul?" Malik asked. "Because we were stuck inside that thing and we're perfectly fine."

"Well when duelling," Yami said. "It takes the soul of the loser. Since we weren't duelling I guess that it just took the souls of the people who had got knocked out…in effect they had lost as they were unable to continue."

Joey, Tea and Tristan exchanged looks before shuddering collectively. It was never pleasant to remember someone having their soul taken. Malik was watching, wide eyed. This sounded a lot more dangerous than any Shadow Game he had ever played. Ryou was quiet, and after a second or two, Bakura was sitting in his place.

"So what exactly does the Seal do? How does it work? You said that it was making the woman who played it more powerful during the fight?"

Yami nodded. "The Seal unlocks the darkness of the person who plays it, making them angry, violent and more irrational than normal. It also stops people outside the duel from entering. That's why those people who arrived during the fight could not get in."

Joey opened his mouth to ask something, but Tea cut him off.

"We'll talk about those people later. Let's finish briefing Ryou and Malik."

Yami gave her a thankful look before continuing. "The Seal also makes all the monsters in play real, though the Millennium Items did that for us anyway. And when a loser is declared, their soul is removed."

"What happens if there is a draw?" Bakura asked, hoping to find a potential weakness in this seemingly all powerful magic.

"In the event of a draw, the Seal disappears without taking a soul," Yami said. "It can also be broken if someone outside the duel has a fragment of Orichalcum. That was the rock that woman had around her neck."

"What about Duel Monsters?" Malik asked, his eyes narrowing. "If we're duelling and that person plays the Seal? You said it was a card too."

"The Seal of Orichalcos is a field spell card," Yami explained. "And it's a very powerful one. It can't be removed from the field by spell, trap or monster effects."

"What about bouncing it back to the player's hand?" Malik asked. Yami shook his head.

"No, once it's on the field, it stays there."

"What about replacing it with your own field card?" Bakura asked, knowing that the rules stated that only one field card could be used at one time.

"Waste of time," Yami said, knowing the thief was wondering what would happen if he played Dark Sanctuary in an Orichalcos duel. "Your field card would not work and the Seal would stay on the field."

Malik whistled in awe. Bakura scowled, before his eyes glazed over a bit. He nodded and snapped back into focus.

"Ryou wants to know if the Seal can be sent directly from the players hand to the Graveyard?"

Yami exchanged looks with Joey and Kaiba, trying to think of an occasion when that had event had ever occurred.

"It could be, as far as we know," Yami said slowly.

"I would probably work," Kaiba admitted. "As long as the Seal doesn't touch the field, it is just like a regular card, so it would be sent to the Graveyard."

"So what else can this thing do?" Malik asked, watching Yami keenly, with the interest of a duellist who was out to exploit any weaknesses of his opponents.

"The Seal gives all monsters on that persons side of the field an extra five hundred attack points, as well as making them Dark attribute creatures," Yami recited from memory. "It also lets that person use their spell and trap card zones for monsters. These monsters form a 'back row' as it were, and they can't be attacked until the front row is cleared out."

"I'm sorry," Malik said incredulously. "Do these people actually believe in playing fair?"

"No," Yami, Joey and Kaiba answered together.

"Is there no other way to destroy the Seal?" Bakura asked. Yami and Joey exchanged looks with each other, before looking at Kaiba. The CEO shrugged, as if to indicate that he didn't care what they told them.

"Well…there is one other way," Joey finally said. "The Seal can be broken by using the Three Legendary Knights of Atlantis…but they're gone now aren't they?"

Yami nodded again in affirmation, wishing now more then ever that they had the help of Timaeus, Critias and Hermos.

"In any case," Kaiba added suddenly. "I was in contact with Pegasus after that little incident with Dartz. He assured me all known Seal cards were destroyed and declared illegal. Anyone found using one or even carrying one in their deck now faces a prison sentence."

His brisk tone indicated the closing of this particular topic.

"I have a question," Tea remarked. "Who were those people who attacked the park in the first place?"

At this, everyone looked stumped.

"Erm…good question," Joey said. "Whoever they were, they sure meant business."

"They were all English," Kaiba provided. "Definitely native speakers at least."

"And that magic they used…" Tea shuddered. "That was horrible. Those people just fell over…dead."

Everyone shared a moment of silence in respect for all those who had fallen that day.

"I've heard of other ancient civilisations around the world using magic," Malik remarked finally. "But I've never heard of it still being actively practised."

"If that wasn't active I don't know what is," Tristan remarked.

"Do you think maybe Dartz is behind all this again?" Joey suggested, remembering the ex-ruler of Atlantis who had been responsible for their last encounter with the Orichalcos.

"I don't think so," Yami shook his head. "After the final battle with the Leviathan, Dartz was freed from the control of the Orichalcos. Yugi and I saw him leave this world, and I don't think he could come back even if he wanted to. Besides, those people in the park were killing, and Dartz would not want that. Souls are useless if the bodies are dead."

"The woman who played the Seal," Mokuba said. "She said something about a 'Dark Lord'. I'll bet he's the one who's behind all this!"

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I don't know any Dark Lords myself," Malik said. Bakura cleared his throat loudly.

"Except for you Bakura," Malik amended wearily. The Tomb Robber smirked.

"So this 'Dark Lord' is sending his minions to kill people or take their souls?" Joey summarised. "Sounds like your average psychopath to me."

"But if they are British then why send their hired help all the way to Japan?" Tea asked. "And why the exact place where we were meeting?"

"I don't think they were specifically targeting us," Yami remarked. "They attacked all those children before they even realised that we were there. And they seemed just as shocked to see our Duel Monster as we were to see the Orichalcos."

"So for once in our lives," Bakura summarised. "We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Meh, it had to happen once," Malik pointed out. "So what do we do now? Do we leave it be or do we try and find out more?"

"I don't know about you," Yami said. "But now they know about our magic, I don't think they'll be leaving us alone. At the very least they will want to recruit it for themselves like they did the Orichalcos. Besides, all those people were killed today. It would be like turning our back on them if we did not try to help."

Everyone had to agree with this.

"Well thanks for this little discussion group," Kaiba said finally, shifting Mokuba off his lap and getting up from his chair. "But I prefer to research these freaks my own way. Come on Mokuba, we're going home."

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Ryou asked, taking control again.

"This is Kaiba you're talking too," Joey pointed out. "When is Rich Boy ever 'not okay'?"

Ryou nodded, as Kaiba began placing the call for his limo driver to come and pick him up. Yami, deciding that he had been out long enough, relinquished control over to Yugi, before retreating to the depths of his soul room to rest.

"Does anyone want to stay the night?" the tri colour haired duellist asked as the Kaiba's left, Mokuba waving goodbye to everyone. "It might be safer if we stick together after what happened today."

"No can do," Tristan shook his head. "My relatives are over and I'm supposed to be home this evening to welcome them."

"Tea?" Yugi asked. The dancer shook her head.

"Sorry Yugi. I'd like to stay, but my parents are expecting me home."

"I'll stay," Ryou said firmly, ignoring the loud groans and general slamming of soul room doors from his yami. "You're right Yugi, its best if we stick together."

"I'm staying too," Malik said. "I'd better just go give Ishizu a call and tell her what happened today. If those guys attacked us then I want my family to be on the alert."

"Phone's on the kitchen wall on the left side of the door," Yugi recited immediately, as the blonde Egyptian boy got up from his place on the floor and hurried into the next room.

"Joey, you staying?" Yugi asked.

"If you wouldn't mind Yug'," Joey said. "I'm not that keen to go home right now to be honest."

Yugi nodded sympathetically. He knew Joey's home life was not the best and that his father was not the nicest person to be around. The blonde sometimes stayed over when things got too much for him.

"That's fine Joey. I'd better go tell Grandpa who's staying."

"Thanks Yug'. You're the best," Joey said smiling. Yugi grinned back.

"Just don't tell Kaiba that Yami never supplied him the magic for summoning his Blue Eyes. He won't be happy to hear that he did it by himself."

"But…" Joey said slowly. "If you and Yami didn't provide the magic, then how did he summon? I thought only people with Millennium Items could call their monsters?"

"That's true," Yugi nodded. "But Yami says whether he believes it or not, Kaiba was his High Priest back in Egypt, and he does have his own magic. But don't tell him that. He'd rather believe that we helped him, then believe that he has magic and that he used it to call his Blue Eyes today."

"My lips are sealed man," Joey promised.

"Did you have to say 'sealed'?" Ryou asked weakly.

OOO

Back at Number Twelve Grimuald Place, the front door closed quietly, and Martin Higgins slipped back into the house, clutching a magazine that his son had loaned him (after he had been forced to swear on pain of death that he would return it unharmed). His mind was packed full of information. He just hoped that it would be useful to Dumbledore.

The kitchen was considerably quieter than it had been when he had left. Dumbledore appeared to be reiterating to a few scowling people, that Severus Snape had been unable to contact him for a few days now, and so he knew nothing yet about the Dark Lords new power of soul stealing. This was an old debate in the Order of the Phoenix, for very few people truly trusted Snape.

"Ah Martin! You have returned," the headmaster said, looking rather grateful for an excuse to end the rather tedious argument. "Did you discover anything?"

"More than I hoped for," Martin said, sitting back down at the table and pulling out the magazine. He flipped open to page five, half of which was taken up by a colour photograph of eight people and eight monsters. A few members of the Order gasped, recognising not one but five of the people from the attack.

"Duel Monsters," Higgins began, "is a card game, in which opponents basically battle monsters with one another. You can see a few of the monsters in the picture. In Japan and recently in the US, holographic systems have begun being used for major tournaments…holograms are like muggle illusions," he added seeing a few of the Order members looking rather confused. "The systems basically bring the monsters to life."

"Muggles have this technology?" one person exclaimed.

"Its Japan," Higgins shrugged. "They have all the latest technology. Anyway, these tournaments are pretty big and having the holograms makes them even more amazing…well according to my son anyway."

"About six months ago Seto Kaiba – this guy –" he pointed at the picture. "Threw a Duel Monsters tournament in Domino City. The tournament was called Battle City, and Yugi Mutou, Joey Wheeler, Ryou Bakura and Malik Ishtar were all finalists, along with Kaiba himself." He pointed at each person in the picture as he recited their names. "The kid who also involved in the attack today was Seto Kaiba's little brother, Mokuba. He was the Battle City commissioner. There were three other finalists but none of them were at the attack today."

"The tournament started off as normal, save for reports of a group of card thieves running around. The strangeness started when the finals did. For some reason only a few of the duels in the finals were ever aired on television. Most of them were censored by Kaiba Corp after the tournament. There have been rumours of course but no solid proof as to why they were never shown to the public. But in all the rumours, two words keep cropping up. Shadow Games."

At this, Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"Are you familiar with the term Albus?" McGonagall asked hopefully. The headmaster nodded.

"The Shadow Games are an Egyptian myth that very few wizards still remember. No one knows how the Shadow Games began, but once they did, Sorcerers would use their powers to call forth beasts and spirits that dwelt in another realm. These battles were known as Shadow Games. But from these games came a great evil that started a war that threatened to destroy the world. The only person who could stop it was the Pharaoh. He supposedly sealed the magic away forever."

"Wait, so you're saying that in Ancient Egypt, Sorcerers used to call monsters to fight for them?" Remus asked. "Much like the monsters we saw today in Japan?"

"For now, we must assume so," Dumbledore nodded, before turning back to the Medi-wizard. "Martin I don't suppose your son mentioned anything about the magic that stopped us from getting to the Death Eaters?"

Higgins shook his head. "No. There was no information on the duellists that linked to anything like that. After Battle City the next tournament was the KC Championships that took place at the beginning of the summer. But there was no mention of Shadow Games there. In fact the tournament went pretty smoothly except for a rival of Kaiba Corp trying to damage the companies reputation. But there was no magical disturbances as far as anyone can tell. As of right now, Yugi Mutou is still the number one duellist in the world, followed by Seto Kaiba, Joey Wheeler, Ryou Bakura and finally, Malik Ishtar. And all of them currently live in Domino."

"Thank you Martin," the headmaster smiled. "Now that we know the names of these people I should be able to track them down."

"What are you planning to do?" Moody asked, caution etched into his voice. He was clearly worried about his friend running off to visit a group of people who quite clearly did not trust them, and used magic that for all they knew could be stronger than theirs.

"I am going to ask them for help," Dumbledore said simply. "Now, if that is all I think we should adjourn for now."

There were a few collective nods and everyone rose to their feet. Dumbledore, clipped his cloak around his neck before heading to the kitchen fireplace and helping himself to floo powder. It was time to track down the King of Games.

* * *

**A/N: (**giggle) I got reviews! Yay!

Props once again to Tai Greywing, my dear plot beta.

Okay a little something I forgot to mention. I know nowhere in the anime or manga does it state that Ryou is British, nor does it state that Joey is American. The only reason people think they are is because their dub actors have accents and because neither of them look Japanese (though to be fair, none of them really do). But because I because I want a few people to speak English already, and because I think Ryou's accent is cute, I'm keeping Ryou as British and Joey as American. It'll make their histories more interesting in my opinion.

Review! Constructive criticism is always welcomed! Next chapter should be up sometime before August 10th when I'm on holiday.


	3. Chapter 3: Wake up call

**Disclaimer: **All characters were borrowed for your viewing pleasure. I do not own them.

**Chapter 3: Wake up call**

It was three AM Japanese time, and three PM British time, when Albus Dumbledore finally popped into the street outside the Game Shop. He had arrived in Japan an hour ago, intending to visit Seto Kaiba first. But the CEO had declined all offer of help, telling him instead to 'go visit Yugi and his pep squad', which is exactly what the headmaster was doing now.

The building itself was strangely shaped, with the front of the store being the game shop and the back and upstairs being the living area. Dumbledore smiled as he passed the front door, upon which, the 'closed' sign stared back at the street. Even though it was dark, he could still tell that the shop was normally bright and lively. He followed the pavement around the side of the house to the back door and knocked three times on the wood.

Upstairs in Yugi's room, the four boys were sleeping soundly. Yugi was in bed, with the Millennium Puzzle around his neck. On the floor, Ryou, Malik and Joey lay in sleeping bags, relatively undisturbed. This was, until the loud clear sounds of a fist on wood rang out. Yugi rolled out of bed with a start and landed on the floor, almost squashing Ryou. The white haired boy woke up not a second later.

"What the…Yugi? Why are you on the floor?"

Yugi got up, rubbing his back with one hand and reaching for the light on the nightstand with the other. The knocking started up again. There was a glow from the Ring and Bakura sat in his host's place. Had this been any other occasion, Yugi would have laughed at the sight of the thief in his hosts pyjamas.

"Who in the name of Ra knocks on someone's door at three o clock in the morning?!" Bakura demanded.

"You don't think it's those people from the park do you?" Yugi asked. Bakura shook his head, his hair flying wildly.

"If it were them, I'm pretty sure they would not have knocked," the thief said, before turning on his side and poking the still sleeping Malik.

"Oi! Tomb Keeper! Get up! We've got company!"

"Nugh…ugh. Bakura…" Malik groaned, his throat scratchy from sleep and his hair scarily resembling his darker half's. "This had better be important. Is there an earthquake?"

Another knock answered his question. Bakura's head snapped towards the sound, and Yami took over from Yugi. Malik bolted upright.

"You suck Rich Boy…" Joey muttered in his sleep. Malik grabbed the glass of water on Yugi's nightstand and poured it all over his face.

"ARGH!" Joey yelped, leaping out of bed in alarm. "MALIK!"

Three pairs of hands clamped over his mouth.

"Shove a sock in it Wheeler!" Bakura ordered, as the landing lights flicked on and the sound of someone moving was heard.

"Grandpa," Yami muttered, getting to his feet and hurrying to the door. Sure enough, Solomon was plodding down the stairs, nightcap askew and an exhausted expression on his face.

"Grandpa go back to bed," Yami ordered, overtaking him on the stairs. "We'll handle this."

"Someone is getting a one way ticket to the Shadow Realm!" Bakura said loudly, as he followed the Pharaoh. Solomon shrugged and turned to head back upstairs.

"Alright. But be careful boys," the older man told them as he left.

"Would someone mind telling me why we're all panicky all of a sudden?" Joey asked. There was another knock at the door.

Dumbledore knew there were people in. Not only could he hear them coming to the door, but also he had sensed not one, but three magical auras when had first arrived at this house. He knew it was an obscene hour of the night to be calling, but this really could not wait. He counted himself lucky that he had not been forced to wake Kaiba up, for the CEO had still been working when he had dropped in. He had a hunch that had Kaiba been sleeping, he would have been thrown off the property.

The door swung open, and Dumbledore was met by a figure with white messy bed hair and dark blue pyjamas, that he had no trouble recognising as Ryou Bakura. The apparently angry teen gave him a quick look over, taking in his robes, hair and hat…before slamming the door in his face.

The headmaster did not mind. In his long life he had had plenty of doors slammed into his face, and given the current time and the manner in which he had met these people it was to be expected. He could hear another voice within now.

"Bakura that was a little bit rude!"

"Says you, the guy who once beat me over the head with the Millennium Rod because I tried to wake him up in class!" the second voice, who Dumbledore assumed was Bakura, retorted.

"That was an accident!"

"Who is it?" a third voice joined in.

"It's that old guy with the silver beard from the park," Bakura replied. The kitchen fell silent.

"Oh…crap," a fourth voice stated.

"Well said Wheeler," came Bakura's sarcastic tone.

"…so what do we do?" the first voice asked.

"Well we could knock him out and run from the building," Bakura suggested.

"Oh for the love of Ra! Let me handle this!" the third voice snapped angrily. The door swung open again, and Dumbledore was faced this time with the spiky head of Yugi Mutou.

"Can we help you with something?" the Pharaoh asked, in a calm voice that still had a noticeable undercurrent of danger. Dumbledore knew instantly, that Yugi was a lot stronger than some people gave him credit for. He had a slightly intimidating air, despite the extremely cute blue pyjamas with stars all over them.

"Good evening gentlemen," the headmaster said, bowing politely to them all.

"Don't you mean good morning?" Malik asked testily, before he could stop himself.

"My apologies for the late hour," Dumbledore said. "I was hoping I could discuss the events of this afternoon with all four of you."

"You mean you want us to give you answers as to what we did," Bakura accused. "Well tough. It's none of your business!"

"Bakura!" Yami snapped. Dumbledore however shook his head.

"On the contrary Mr Bakura, I was intending to provide you with information, information that you may need to protect yourself in the future."

Bakura looked about to say something, but Joey slapped a hand over his mouth to cut him off. Yami gave the wizard a long look, trying to discern whether or not he was trustworthy.

//_Aibou? What do you think_?//

He sensed Yugi's mental frown as he thought about this. His light was an excellent judge of character, and would be able to tell if this man was safe.

/_I think he's trustworthy. He doesn't seem like a bad person. He's very old though. Older than Grandpa. He's probably seen a lot in life. His eyes look weary. But I don't think he means us any harm. Though we should be careful. We don't want to wind up telling him too much. It could put him in danger as well as us_/

Yami had to agree with this, so he nodded and allowed Dumbledore in. The headmaster stepped gratefully in, remembering to remove his buckled boots.

Dumbledore was relieved that they were willing to talk to him. He had a feeling that they would be slightly more accepting than Seto Kaiba was. He could tell now that he was inside, that Yugi, Ryou and Malik all had magic. It pulsed from them like a heartbeat. Joey however did not have a magical aura, which led Dumbledore to wonder how he and the others had all summoned the monsters if they did not have any magic.

As Yami led them through the kitchen and into the front room, Dumbledore felt a slight prodding at his mind. While he knew his Occlumency was strong enough to withstand anyone, he was still curious, for it felt like no type of Legilemency he had ever come across. He could tell that someone was trying to read his mind, but how they were doing it was a mystery. He noted out of the corner of his eye, that Bakura was scowling.

//_Blasted Eye_!// the Tomb Robber snapped mentally. //_Must be broken. Either that or he can block me from his mind_//

/_Yami can I take over_?/ Ryou asked hopefully, privately feeling that his darker half had been rude enough to turn the wizards opinion of him sour forever. He could take control back without asking if he wanted to, but Bakura would be in a very foul mood if he did that.

//_Yes you can_// the thief said surprisingly. //_I'll try and read his mind from my soul room. Just keep one hand on the Eye_//

/_Since when was the Eye in my pocket?_/ Ryou asked, as he took over, feeling the smooth warm metal of the Millennium Eye in the pocket of his pyjama bottoms.

//_Since I put it there for safe keeping!_// was the snappy reply. //_Now hush and listen_!//

Ryou sighed and slumped onto a sofa. Malik sat next to him, the Millennium Rod clutched in his right hand just in case of emergency. Yami took the armchair, while Dumbledore graciously took the other sofa. He looked rather relaxed for someone who was sitting in a room with four strangers, three of whom had magic capable of going head to head with his own.

"So what would you like to know?" Dumbledore asked. Yugi, who had taken over from his darker half, posed the first question.

"Who exactly are you?"

The headmaster inclined his head.

"Of course, how rude of me. My name is Albus Dumbledore. I am the headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Britain."

Whatever the four had been expecting, it was not that.

"A school of witchcraft and wizardry?" Malik asked slowly. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"Surely that does not surprise you? You yourselves have magic do you not?"

"Well yes," Malik said. "But I never knew that other places in the world still actively practised it. I though most forms of magic died out years ago."

Dumbledore chuckled. "While that is very true with most cultures, I can assure you Mr Ishtar, that magic is still being practised. Indeed, there are witches and wizards still living all around the world."

"Hold on," Ryou said. "I grew up in England and I never heard anything about a school of magic."

"I don't suppose you would have," Dumbledore agreed. "The Wizarding world is kept secret from muggles…that is what we call non magic folk, so it is no surprise that you have never heard of it. In fact I suppose I should take that as a compliment, as it means our security around the castle is impeccable."

"Okay…so you're the headmaster of a magic school?" Joey asked. "Then who were those people in the park today? I'm guessing they have the same kind of magic you do."

At this Dumbledore looked grave.

"Indeed they do. I'm sorry to say that the Wizarding world is currently at war. A man who goes by the name of Lord Voldemort returned from a state of near death not a year ago. The people you saw today at Domino Park were his followers, who call themselves Death Eaters. Voldemort and his followers aim to kill all non magical people and to take over the wizarding world."

"So this Voldemort guy is the Dark Lord that the guys in the park mentioned today?" Malik asked. Dumbledore nodded.

"Ever since his return, Voldemort has been gathering followers and attacking muggles and magical folk alike. There have been several killings of some of our most skilled and valued witches and wizards. He has also attacked Somerset last month with his Death Eaters and a giant…"

"Wait…there was a hurricane in Somerset last month," Yugi said, remembering a news report he had heard a while ago. "You…you mean that…"

Once again, Dumbledore nodded. Yugi slumped back weakly in the sofa.

"That's horrible! How can they do such things?"

Even Malik looked shocked at the terror that was gripping these people. In the back of his mind, Ryou could hear that even Bakura had gone silent, though he suspected that he was more indignant that there was someone out there who was more feared than him, rather than the horror of what was going on in the Magical world.

"What about the Orichalcos?" Joey asked suddenly. Dumbledore looked confused.

"Orichalcos?"

"Yeah, it's the magic they used today in the park," Joey explained. "You know, the giant green thing that took their souls?"

"Ah well as to that…we have no idea," Dumbledore admitted. "I did not even know that was what it was called. The attacks started a few weeks ago. The victims would be found soulless so everyone is assuming that Voldemort is sending Dementors after them…"

"Dementors?" Yugi asked. "What are they?"

"Creatures that feed of the happiness of others," Dumbledore explained. "They used to guard the wizard prison Azkaban, but they've recently joined Voldemort. If given the chance, they will suck their victims souls out."

All four teens looked horrified at the idea of such monstrous creatures.

/_Sounds like you on a good day_/ Ryou though dryly. /_Pilferer of happiness and stealer of souls…_/

//_You're being far too cheeky today landlord_//

"Oh just the creature I want to meet in a dark ally," Malik said sarcastically.

"So Voldemort is using the Orichalcos and everyone thinks it's these Dementors of his?" Yugi said.

"Simply put yes," Dumbledore nodded. "If I may, how do you four know about the Orichalcos?"

All four of them exchanged glances. With the amount of information they had just been given, Yugi felt it was only right to give him some back. Besides it could save people's lives if they knew what to expect.

"It's a long and complicated story," Yugi warned. Dumbledore settled back against the sofa.

"I assure you Mr Mutou, I have nowhere else to be right now."

OOO

An hour later, the story was finished. Yugi and Joey between them had reiterated most of their adventure with the Orichalcos to Dumbledore. They had told him about the Seal, its origins in Atlantis, its effects on the person who played it, and some background information on Duel Monsters and the Dominion of the Beasts. They had neglected however to mention anything about the Millennium Items, the yamis or the Shadow Games. That information was too dangerous to give out freely.

The wizard had remained silent throughout the explanation, listening patiently as they retold what had obviously been a difficult and trying challenge for them. Any other man might have been stunned that a group of teenagers could fight such a great evil and win, but Dumbledore knew better than anyone that even the youngest of people was capable of many things. The power of the Orichalcos was dangerous and he knew this information would help the wizarding community greatly.

"I must thank all four of you," he said. "What you have told me will save many lives. But before I take my leave I must ask a few more things."

"Firstly, you have mentioned that in Duel Monsters the creatures take on a real physical form when the Seal of Orichalcos is played, but today you used cards outside the Seal and they still came to life. And as I have said before, you three," he paused to nod at Yugi, Ryou and Malik, "clearly have your own magic. Was this how you were able to call the cards to life?"

The three exchanged glances. They had all been hoping to get through this little meeting without telling Dumbledore anything about the items. But now they had been put on the spot, they had a problem. Eventually Yugi shook his head.

"We don't exactly have our own magic. Our power comes from these," he raised the Puzzle. "They're called Millennium Items and they are how we call our monsters. This is the Millennium Puzzle."

He looked over at Ryou and Malik, who pulled out the Ring and the Rod respectively.

"This is the Millennium Ring," Ryou said, fiddling with the points at the end of the pendant.

"And this is the Millennium Rod," Malik said briefly, letting the object rest in his lap. He knew from the tones in the others voices that they would not say anything else about the items power unless Dumbledore specifically asked.

"I see," the headmaster said. "And are there more of these Millennium Items out there?"

"There are seven all together," Malik asked. "But if you're worried about them we can get in contact with the bearers and warn them."

He did not mention of course that the only other bearer still around was Shadi and he was the last person on Earth that any of them wanted to contact. Yugi still had the Millennium Necklace, and as far as everybody but Ryou and Bakura knew, the Eye had disappeared completely.

"That would be wise," Dumbledore said. "Though none of the Death Eaters escaped the attack to warn Voldemort, it will not be long before he finds out and starts to take an interest in you three. I presume that Mr Kaiba also bears one of these Items?"

At this Joey snorted and Malik suppressed a laugh.

"Kaiba doesn't believe in magic," Malik said bluntly. "Even though he's seen enough examples of it staring him in the face, he still doesn't believe in it, purely because he can't explain it. He thinks Yugi leant him the power to summon his dragon in that fight today. But it's not true. Kaiba's past life means he has his own brand of magic. He doesn't need an Item to call monsters. It's in his blood that he can summon."

"I see," Dumbledore said, before turning to Joey. "I assume therefore that Mr Mutou was helping you too Mr Wheeler?"

"Yep," Joey nodded. "Yugi gave magic to me and Mokuba so we could summon. Ryou helped Tea, and Malik helped Tristan. It was the only way we could defend ourselves."

The explanation was reasonable, and so Dumbledore moved on to his final question, one that he had been building up to through the whole talk.

"I have a favour to ask of the three of you," he said. "Mr Kaiba has already rejected my offer. As Voldemort grows stronger it is becoming clear to me that we are in for a harder fight than we had during his first rise to power. Even if we are to warn people about the Orichalcos, I cannot protect my students forever. I am needed to help fight in this war."

The three bearers had an idea of where this conversation was going, and they were already forming their answers.

"I am asking the three of you to attend Hogwarts as students."

//_I knew he was going to ask that_// Yami thought in his soul room.

/_What do you think Yami_?/ Yugi asked.

//_I do not think either of us could sit by knowing innocent people were dying, especially when we know how to help them. But are you sure about this Aibou? It could be dangerous_//

/_And that's different from our everyday life how Other Me_?/ Yugi asked dryly. His darker chuckled.

//_I suppose you're right. I wonder what everyone else is thinking_?//

As he thought this, Malik turned to him and gave him a questioning look.

"I'll go," Yugi said firmly, before faltering slightly and looking guiltily at Joey. "But what about our friends? Will they be safe without us here?"

"We can arrange to protect their homes and have a few people from the Japanese Ministry keep an eye on them," Dumbledore offered. Joey however knew what his little friend was worried about and patted him reassuringly on the shoulder.

"It's no problem Yug'. You guys go and help. We'll be fine."

"But will you be safe?" Yugi asked. The last thing he wanted was to rush off only to leave his friends in danger.

"Hey no one is going to beat the awesome Joey Wheeler in a duel, Orichalcos or not!" the blond said proudly, before turning serious again. "And look at it this way. You'll be back in the holidays to check on us. And if things do get bad, we've got Kaiba. Even if he doesn't believe in his magic, he will be able to protect us all. He can get a hold of you quickly too."

"And plus," Malik interjected. "If Timaeus, Critias and Hermos return, which by the sounds of what happened last time, they might, Kaiba and Joey will both be able to protect themselves and everyone else."

"Does this mean you're going too?" Yugi asked hopefully. Malik nodded.

"I'm not doing anything else this year. Besides, it could be interesting."

"What about you Ryou?" Yugi asked, before noting the spaced out look that meant that their friend was talking to his yami.

/_Yami what do you think_?/

//_Why are you asking me? Its not, as you constantly remind me, my body_//

/_Because you live in my head and where I go you have to go too_/

_//You're far too nice landlord. One day someone will take advantage of that//_

_/Do you want to go or not?/_

//_In truth_?// Bakura asked. //_I don't like the idea of us being used as shields against the Orichalcos. But where the Pharaoh goes, I should probably go too. Besides, I want to see this Dark Lord that everyone is so afraid of, and show him who is the true Darkness in this world_!//

_/…so is that a yes?/_

_//What do you think?//_

"Okay, I'm in too," Ryou said. "We will be able to come back in the holidays won't we?"

"Of course," Dumbledore assured them. "The start of year at Hogwarts is September 1st, one week from today. Though if I am correct, the academic year here in Japan has already started has it not?"

Yugi nodded, realising that the headmaster was right. Japanese school years started in April, with the academic terms and holidays falling roughly in the same place as those in the UK.

"In that case," Dumbledore said. "I shall need to contact a few people in the board of Governors in order to smooth everything over with your school, but there should be no immediate worries. And if at any time you feel you wish to leave Hogwarts, we can arrange it so that you can immediately return to Domino High."

Yugi was glad that at least they had the option of coming back home if needs be. Dumbledore pulled three parchment envelopes out of his robes and handed one to each of them.

"Those envelopes contain a list of school supplies that can only be bought in Britain. There are also a few permission forms and other papers that your parents or guardians will have to look through and sign. You may tell them, but no one else where you are going. It is imperative that we keep the Magical world secret."

"What about the people who were at the park with us today?" Yugi asked. "Can we tell them? They do already know, sort of, and they won't let us go anyway without a decent explanation."

"As they are already aware of your powers I see no harm in that," Dumbledore said. "However you must impress secrecy on them."

"Will do," Joey assured him. "I'm certainly not telling anyone!"

"Erm…Professor," Ryou spoke up timidly. "My father is in Egypt right now so I can't give him any of these to sign…"

"I see," Dumbledore nodded, thinking for a few seconds before brightening. "If I may Mr Bakura, I think I shall visit him myself after leaving you. I can take the letters myself."

"Would you?" Ryou asked hopefully. Dumbledore smiled at him.

"Of course."

"Wait a second," Malik said suddenly. "How are we going to get to Britain? I don't know about you guys, but I don't have the money to pay for plane tickets."

"Me neither," Yugi admitted.

"I don't suppose there is any chance that Kaiba would pay for you," Joey snorted. "Unless you can get to Britain by magic or something?"

He meant is as a joke, but everyone quickly realised that this could be quite possible given what they had just learned. Dumbledore however shook his head.

"However much easier it would be for you to travel magically, I'm afraid that magical transportation, particularly across continents, has recently become unreliable in light of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. I would say that flying to Britain by muggle means would be the safest option. And in any case…" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "I am sure that it would be noticeable if three of the top five duellists in the world were to leave the country without a registered means of transport."

None of them could argue with that.

"But there is still the question of money," Malik reminded him.

"Not to worry Mr Ishtar," Dumbledore reassured him. "I took the liberty of explaining my intentions to Mr Kaiba before I left him this evening. He has already offered to pay for all your flights should you say yes."

"Excuse me?" Ryou said incredulously.

"Rich Boy did what now?" Joey asked. Dumbledore merely found their reactions amusing and continued.

"I believe his exact words were 'if Yugi is going to be flying half way around the world, I'm going to make sure that he can fly back regularly so I can take his title.'"

Yugi sweat dropped, but at the same time, he knew Kaiba was trying to help in his own weird way.

"Once you reach England there are further instructions inside the envelope," Dumbledore continued. "There is a wizarding establishment in London called the Leaky Cauldron, where you can stay until it is time to go to Hogwarts. I shall be sending Hagrid, our Care of Magical Creatures professor to meet you on the 31st to help you with your shopping. Do any of you speak English?"

"Ryou is fluent," Malik said immediately, causing the white haired boy to blush. Dumbledore smiled.

"Good. We do have language charms that we can use, but they require constant topping up and can be quite dangerous if the go wrong. There is a more permanent method that I shall ask Hagrid to give to you two when you meet him."

"So we'll be able to speak English properly?" Yugi asked, his eyes shining. The only language he could speak was Japanese, and he had always envied those of his friends who were multilingual, including his own yami.

"Certainly," Dumbledore said, rising to his feet and reaching for his cloak. "Unless you have any more questions then, I feel I have trespassed on your hospitality long enough."

"Thank you for coming Professor," Yugi said, getting to his feet and bowing to the teacher. Dumbledore smiled. The new students seemed much friendlier than they had that afternoon.

"I should be thanking you three," he said as Yugi showed him to the door. "What you have told me this evening will save lives. I look forward to seeing you all at Hogwarts."

"We'll see you there," Yugi said. Ryou smiled and bade him goodbye in English. Joey did the same. Malik merely nodded, still fingering the envelope in curiosity. Dumbledore gave them all one last bow before heading off down the street. As he passed under the first street lamp, he disapperated with a pop.

"Wow…" Malik said simply, as Yugi shut the door. "That was something you don't see everyday."

"Certainly not," Ryou said, before looking down at his envelope. "This is definitely unbelievable huh?"

"Too true," Malik said. "I mean we've all seen some pretty crazy stuff haven't we? But a wizarding school in Great Britain probably takes the cake."

"Even more than finding out that your two friends have Egyptian spirits as the other halves of their soul?" Joey asked.

"Mmm…okay that ties for first place," Malik shrugged.

"Maybe we should get some sleep," Yugi suggested. "It's four thirty in the morning, and I need to think of the best way to tell Grandpa about all this!"

* * *

**A/N: **Aaaaaaaaand done! I'm churning these out pretty fast considering how long it's taking me to write them.

Props to Tai Greywing and Isis the Sphinx for beta-ing. You two rock! Have cookies!

I will not be able to respond to reviews for this chapter. I am in France, and our dial up connection makes leaving reviews and sending replies impossible. Gomen.

Next update will probably be at the end of the month-ish. I don't know. Depends how much writing I get done on holiday.

Now everyone knows what to do. Click the button and tell me what this was like!


	4. Chapter 4: Good Old British Weather

**Disclaimer: **Unless the rights to Harry Potter and YuGiOh are suddenly sold on ebay, I shall not be owning them any time soon.

**A word on pairings: **A question was raised in a review for the last chapter (thanks Silver Star Celine). Will there be any pairings in this story? I can safely say, now that I have finished fleshing out the plot and I'm happy with it, that there will be no pairings in this story. I may hint to a few pairings such as Ron/Hermione, Harry/Ginny and Joey/Mai, but I won't be actively introducing any couples to the story. Sorry to anyone who was specifically looking for romance.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Good old fashioned British weather**

The four words that every stressed and exhausted traveller loathes to hear, spewed from Malik Ishtars lips wearily.

"Are we there yet?"

"No!" Ryou snapped, quite ready to pull out his hair at this particular moment in time. It had been a hectic day for all three of the Millennium Item holders. Their flight had been delayed by half an hour, none of them had slept a wink on the plane, and their bodies still thought they were in Japan, and were stubbornly telling them that it was six o clock in the morning, when in fact it was six in the evening here in the UK. Not to mention they had got to Paddington train station only to realise that they were travelling in the rush hour, delaying them further.

Ryou was also beginning to feel a lot like an overworked babysitter. He was the only one who had ever been to England before, and he was the only one who spoke the language, meaning he had to deal with getting his friends through immigration at London Heathrow, buying their train and underground tickets, and restraining Malik from sending innocent bystanders to the Shadow Realm because they were "looking at him funny".

And as if to add a cherry onto this whirlwind of disaster, they had been greeted at Heathrow, by good old fashioned British weather. Meaning it was tipping down with rain even though it was the end of August.

"Wow, I love Britain already," Malik said sarcastically, looking out of the nearest window of the underground train they were standing on (it was so busy that they had not been able to get seats). "It's wetter than Japan. It's colder than Japan. And it's making me sleepy."

"Malik that is because your body still thinks we're in Japan," Yugi yawned. He was also quite shattered, being that it had been almost nineteen hours since they had left home and he would normally have been getting up for school about now were it not the summer.

"And we have to go shopping tomorrow you realise?" Ryou reminded them. "So I suggest we all go straight to bed when we get there."

There were no arguments from his friends, only another loud yawn from Yugi.

"Why don't you let Yami out if you're tired?" Ryou asked, dropping his voice even though he was speaking Japanese. "You could go sleep in your soul room."

Yugi gave a smile.

"He offered, but I said I'd be fine. He has important stuff to think about and I didn't want to disturb him."

"Important stuff?" Malik asked sceptically. "Like how pretty his soul room is?"

Yugi rolled his eyes.

"Other Me has actually been thinking about the Death Eaters, and wondering how this Voldemort guy got a hold of the Orichalcos and how he figured out how to use it."

There was an uncomfortable silence. Over the last week they had all been wondering the same thing.

The train began to slow down and Ryou reached for the luggage rack.

"This is us," he said, watching the platform come into view. The doors slid open and the commuters surrounding them surged out. Yugi held onto one of the handrails to stop himself from being carried away by the crowd, while Malik glared at anyone who dared touch him. Ryou merely rolled his eyes at him and followed the businessmen, suitcase and friends dragging behind him.

Euston Station was incredibly busy at this time of day, and all three boys were thrilled to finally get outside onto the street. The rain was still coming down in sheets and Ryou sensibly pulled out his umbrella. Even though it was still light out, the pitch black rain clouds made the streets of London seem darker than normal.

//_Oh sweet Gods. I'd forgotten how much I missed this weather_// came the sarcastic voice of Bakura, who had apparently just woken up in his soul room. Ryou rolled his eyes again, before pulling out the crumpled piece of parchment that had been in the envelope that Dumbledore had given him.

"The Leaky Cauldron is this way," he said, pointing off down the street. The three began to make their way down the road, Ryou with his nose still glued to the parchment.

"Left," he ordered as they approached the crossroads.

"It better not be like this all the time we're here," Malik said grumpily. Yugi gave another smile, though it was definitely smaller than what it would have been had he had a decent sleep. He yawned again.

"Ooh don't do that Yugi you're going to…" Malik was stopped by a yawn of his own. "…make me do it too."

Up ahead, Ryou chuckled, before finding himself caught up in his own round of yawning.

//_You three are idiots_// Bakura informed him.

/_Yawns are infectious Bakura_/ Ryou muttered, before realising that they should be turning right at the end of this street.

"There it is!" Yugi pointed excitedly up ahead. Sure enough, the Leaky Cauldron was wedged between a book shop and a record store, almost unnoticeable unless you knew what you were looking for. Ryou checked the parchment again as they walked in.

"We're supposed to ask for Tom the bartender," he muttered, not noticing that neither of his friends were paying attention. Yugi was red in the face from hauling his suitcase so far, and Malik was trying to wring the rainwater out of his hair. Ryou sighed, reminding himself that he would soon be asleep, before looking around the pub.

It looked very much like any other pub in Britain, except perhaps a little darker and drearier. Most of the tables were surrounded by families and friends, drinking, eating and talking loudly. Ryou was relieved at least that so far they did not seem to be attracting much attention. Everyone was too busy with their food to notice them.

He, Yugi and Malik made their way over to the bar, where a toothless man was wiping a set of glasses clean and replacing them on the shelf above his head. Ryou caught his eye and the man smiled, showing the gap in his teeth.

"Now you three are too young to be drinking, so I'm going to guess that you are the three transfers Dumbledore told me about," he summarised quickly. Ryou smiled for what felt like the first time since they had left the plane, and replied in English, completely forgetting to be shy.

"Yes sir we are. We're sorry we are late, but our flight was delayed…"

"No worries," the man said airily. "You can call me Tom. I'm guessing you three will want to go straight to your rooms? You look shattered."

"Thank you," Ryou replied.

"Ryou!" Malik whined in Japanese. "Can you please hurry it up? I think I'm going to fall asleep where I stand."

"If you do that, my yami says, and I quote, 'I am not lugging your heavy ass up to your room,'" Ryou snapped, feeling exhaustion grate on his patience once again. Malik's jaw dropped.

"Did Ryou just say ass?" he asked Yugi.

"Here you go lad," Tom said, handing over three keys. "Those are your rooms. Dumbledore told me that Hagrid will be meeting you to go shopping at ten o clock tomorrow morning. I'll wake you all up for breakfast if you want."

"Thank you, that would be much appreciated," Ryou told him. "However you may want to leave waking Malik up to us. He tends to lash out."

In his mind, Ryou translated 'lashing out' as 'sending you to the Shadow Realm' or 'beating you over the head with the Millennium Rod' but of course he did not repeat any of these.

"Okay, I'll bear that mind," Tom said. "You want anything to eat before you turn in?"

"Thank you Tom," Ryou said. "But we're all exhausted. I think we're all just going to go straight to bed."

"That's no problem," Tom assured him. "If you need anything I'll be down here until midnight."

"Okay. Thank you," Ryou smiled, before turning to his friends and leading them upstairs.

"After today," Malik said. "I never want to see a train in the UK again."

"We're catching the train to Hogwarts," Yugi said sleepily.

"Damn it!" Malik roared, almost tripping over the top step in anger. Ryou glared at him.

"Keep it down Malik," he ordered, handing him the key to room eleven. "I'm in room ten, Yugi you take nine. See you guys in the morning."

He let himself in, leaving a sheepish looking Yugi and a bemused Malik.

"What was his problem?" the Tomb Keeper asked.

"I think he's tired, and a bit sick of babysitting us," Yugi yawned, setting off Malik again. "It'll be great when we can speak the language. Anyway, I'm going to bed. Night Malik."

"Night," Malik said, accidentally walking into the door of his room before he realised that he had not unlocked it yet.

OOO

Yugi felt as though he had only just dropped off to sleep, when Tom was shaking him awake and pulling open the curtains of his room. The bartender greeted him, and Yugi responded with what little English he knew, hoping he had said the right thing. He could not wait until Hagrid got there. From the shout in the room next door, he gathered that Ryou was waking Malik.

As soon as Tom was gone, Yugi immediately began to sort through his clothes for something to wear that day. It was still dark and overcast, but it appeared to have stopped raining for the moment. As Yugi finished dressing and began pulling on his armbands, Yami fazed out of the Puzzle.

"Good morning Aibou."

"Morning Yami," Yugi smiled happily.

"Feeling better now that you've slept?" the Pharaoh asked.

"Much better," Yugi said, pulling on his jacket and clipping the belt with the pouch for his duelling deck around his waist.

"Looks like rain again," Yami remarked.

"Yeah I know. Let's hope it stays dry while we're shopping," Yugi said, knocking on the dresser as he passed it. "Coming for breakfast?"

Yami nodded and disappeared back into the Puzzle as Yugi hurried out into the corridor. Ryou was already waiting there, looking significantly more cheerful than he had the previous day. He wore jeans and a white t-shirt, and had thrown a light blue jacket over for extra warmth.

"Morning Ryou," Yugi said politely, still unsure of his friend's temperament after the previous night.

"Good morning Yugi," Ryou said. "I'm sorry if I was short with you last night. I was just tired."

"Its okay," Yugi assured him, wincing as there was a rather loud crash from Malik's room.

"Do you think he's okay, or do you think he's tried to send something magical to the Shadow Realm and it backfired?" Ryou asked.

"No idea," Yugi said, although privately he was willing to bet the latter as their Egyptian friend plodded out of his room muttering furiously under his breath. He certainly looked a lot more cheerful than he had the previous night. He wore his usual trousers, but was wearing a black zip up hoodie over his shirt. Apparently the temperature in this country was not agreeing with him in the slightest.

"Stupid…insensitive…Ra damned mirror!"

"A mirror?" Ryou asked. "What did the mirror do to you?"

"It said…something about my back," Malik muttered. His friends knew he was referring specifically to the scars from the Tomb Keepers initiation. "Let's just go."

Thankfully Malik's bad mood disappeared as soon as Tom gave them their breakfast. The three of them sat in a corner of the pub, watching as it began to fill with wizards and witches, some more bizarre looking than others. They all got a shock when the fireplace began bursting into life, and more and more shoppers began appearing from the flames by floo powder. A few people were clearly regulars, as the other residents of the bar would smile and wave at them, and Tom would offer them a glass of what he clearly knew were their favourite drink.

As ten o clock rolled around, the three teens, and two spirits (who had popped out to view the new environment for themselves) were finishing their meals and were going through the items on their shopping list.

"There's a lot of clothing on this list," Malik said, pulling a face. "And it all sounds scarily like what I used to wear when I was running the Rare Hunters."

"Malik," came the dry voice of Bakura. "I once heard Ishizu say that when you wore a cloak in the Rare Hunters, you never wore a shirt underneath. Are you planning on going around this school with your chest on display?"

"Oh shut up," Malik sighed, throwing a blob of jam at the Tomb Robber. He realised too late, that this was pointless while Bakura was in spirit form as the food sailed right through him.

"That is a long list of books, I will say," Yami commented, reading over Yugi's shoulder.

"Well we do have five years of study to catch up on, plus the stuff we're learning this year," Yugi reminded him. "We have to have mastered the basics and general first year theory by the end of October. Second by the end of term. Third by the time we get back to Hogwarts after Christmas…"

"We'll be fine," Malik said breezily. "I spent most of my life in the tombs and I caught up fine at Domino High after I joined."

Ryou raised an eyebrow. "Really, then what's this I heard about you telling your Literacy teacher that the only thing she could get an A in was in being an idiot?"

Malik scowled.

"She is the worst teacher in the school! It's not my fault she has a stick shoved up her ass longer than Kaiba's!"

"She's not the worst teacher I've ever had," Ryou shrugged. "I had a teacher in Primary school who liked to pick on me because of my hair."

"That's rough," Malik admitted.

"Chono-sensei was probably my worst," Yugi said, noting out of the corner of his eye, that Yami was smirking at the mention of the teacher, who last he heard was still suffering from the Penalty game he had given her.

"Why is the Pharaoh smirking?" Bakura asked, sounding slightly edgy.

"Does it bother you Tomb Robber?" Yami asked, still sitting there looking smug as.

"To be blunt, yes," Bakura said. "Because whenever I see that grin on your face it usually means you've won something. What's so big about this teacher?"

"She lost a Shadow Game to me," Yami said casually. "Now every time she is unpleasant to students, she finds that the mask of make up on her face begins to…crack…"

Bakura raised a pale eyebrow in interest. He had to admit, his rival had good taste in Penalty Games. Yugi shook his head in disapproval, but he said nothing. He knew that not even Yami could undo Penalty Games once they had been issued. And besides it had been over a year ago.

"Wait, so how come Yami is allowed to go around challenging teachers to Shadow Games, yet you lot and Ishizu won't let me mind control my teachers?" Malik whined.

Ryou rolled his eyes, and was about to explain why the Egyptian should not use the Rod to solve all his problems, when a shadow loomed over their table.

The man (if indeed you could call him that) was huge, easily twice the height of a normal man and three times as broad. His face was hidden behind a mess of black hair and a tangled black beard, yet his eyes were warm and friendly. He wore a long brown overcoat, with numerous amounts of pockets, and he seemed to be just as surprised at their appearances as they were at his.

"'ello there! You three the new students I'm supposed ta be showin' around?"

"Holy Ra you're tall!" Malik blurted, without thinking. Yugi nudged him in the side, reminding him to be polite. The man however frowned and looked confused.

"Eh sorry, I don't speak Japanese. Dumbledore tol' me one of ya spoke English though."

"I'm sorry," Ryou said, quickly gathering himself and standing up. "We were all just a bit…startled."

The giant waved a huge hand airily. "It's alright. I get that a lot. Names Hagrid, Care of Magical Creatures Professor."

"I'm Ryou Bakura," the white haired boy said, offering a hand, which was promptly shaken furiously. "And this is Yugi Mutou and Malik Ishtar."

Upon hearing their names, the other two got up and bowed politely. Bakura growled as Ryou mentally winced at the pain in his wrist. Hagrid had one hell of a handshake. Yami jabbed the thief in the side before vanishing back into the Puzzle. Bakura grudgingly disappeared too, knowing that Ryou would call if he needed help. Hagrid beamed, before rummaging around in his pockets.

"Well I'm guessing ya don't want to be translatin' all day Ryou, so I'd better give ya these. Dumbledore told me you'd need em."

He handed over what looked like two squares of paper each with a smaller square piece of film stuck to them. They looked strangely like nicotine patches, which upon closer inspection seemed to flash and ripple as though it were alive with magic. Just visible in the corner, in tiny writing, was the word 'English'.

"What are they?" Ryou asked, as Yugi and Malik cautiously took them.

"Language patches," Hagrid explained. "They're a fairly new invention. Only been out to buy for a few months. They're like Language charms, but they're safer and they last longer. Ya stick em on ya shoulder bit like those patches muggles wear to wean themselves off cigarettes, and they allow ya to speak and write in that language."

Ryou quickly reiterated all this to his friends and they immediately began to peel off the backing.

"How long do they last for?" Ryou asked, as Yugi took off his jacket and Malik rolled up his sleeve.

"Three months," Hagrid said. "Dumbledore said he'd have replacements for ya when they run out or if they stop workin'."

"Hope these things don't fall off," Yugi said, as he rubbed the patch to make sure it was firmly stuck down.

"Nah, they can only be unstuck with a spell when ya need to remove em for showerin and such like," Hagrid said, and Yugi jumped realising that he had been understood perfectly. "I'd show ya meself but I'm not really supposed to do magic. So Dumbledore said he'd tell ya when ya get to Hogwarts tonight."

"Why can't you do magic?" Ryou asked curiously.

"I was expelled in my third year, fer summat I didn't do," Hagrid said, scowling forcefully.

"Oh my," Ryou said, instantly feeling for the man before him. "I'm sorry Professor."

"Nah its okay," Hagrid said. "I've got over it. Besides, I'm still at Hogwarts and I still have a great time. You's three will too. Oh and er, if ya want to just call me Hagrid. Professor makes me feel old."

"This feels weird," Malik said, having finally got his sleeve up enough to stick the patch on. "Now I have four languages crammed into my head."

"We can still speak Japanese though," Yugi said trying it out.

"Yeah, the patches don't replace the language," Hagrid informed them, guessing what Yugi had just discovered. "They just add the extra language into ya head." He rummaged through his many pockets, before pulling out a pocket watch and checking the time.

"Well it's gettin' on. Now ya can all understand me I guess I'd better introduce meself again. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, and Care of Magical Creatures teacher."

"Nice to meet you," Yugi said, bowing again politely. "I'm Yugi Mutou." He poked Malik when the Egyptian said nothing. He was double checking that he could still speak all of his other known languages.

"Malik Ishtar," he said briefly, before muttering something in Arabic. Hagrid seemed satisfied and so he turned back to Ryou and Yugi. They seemed to be the friendlier ones of the group.

"So ya ready to get your supplies?" he asked.

"Yep," Yugi said beaming. Ryou smiled, now reverting back to his usual quiet self, now that Yugi and Malik could speak for themselves.

"Well lets get goin' then," Hagrid said, leading them across the pub and out through the back door. Aside from the few dustbins and rubbish bags, there was just the brick wall.

"Erm…Hagrid, are you sure this is the right way?" Yugi asked cautiously. Malik was looking around with a raised eyebrow. Hagrid just smiled and pulled out a pink flowery umbrella. All three teens raised eyebrows when he started counting the bricks.

"Three up…two across…you'll wanna see this," he assured them, tapping the chosen brick three times. A hole appeared in the brick, growing wider and wider, revealing the magical alleyway behind it. Ryou gasped aloud, Yugi's jaw dropped and Malik swore under his breath in Ancient Egyptian.

"This," Hagrid said grandly. "Is Diagon Ally."

//_That…was impressive_// Yami remarked from inside his soul room. Yugi nodded faintly in agreement.

Hagrid led them down the street, clearing rather a wide path in the shoppers with his size. The three boys just had to stick closely behind him.

"Amazing…" Yugi muttered in Japanese.

"Tell me about it," Ryou said, before dropping his voice. "It's stunned my yami into silence."

//_I was not stunned landlord_!//

/_Sure Bakura. I believe you_/

"Hagrid," Malik asked, his eyes narrowing at a row of posters slapped onto one of the shop windows. "What's with all the posters?"

"Eh?" Hagrid said, before noticing what the Egyptian boy was staring at. "Oh them. Dumbledore explained about the Death Eaters didn' he?"

"Yes he did," Ryou nodded, feeling his stomach sink in realisation. "Oh…they're wanted posters."

"Yep," Hagrid nodded sadly. "Don' worry though. We've got Dumbledore, he's the only one You-Know-Who's afraid of."

"Why did you call him that?" Yugi piped up curiously.

"Well…no one likes sayin' his name if they have to," Hagrid explained uncomfortably. "Everyone's scared see."

"Why?" Malik snorted. "It's not like he's going to appear if we say his name."

"I know," Hagrid said. "Look, you three haven't been here that long, but ye'd be better not going around sayin' the name. It frightens people."

Yugi and Ryou nodded, but Malik just rolled his eyes.

"So stupid," he muttered in Japanese. "It's only a name."

"Here we are," Hagrid said. "Gringotts, the Wizarding Bank."

The building was a snowy white marble that even with the overcast weather seemed to shine brightly. Guarding the front doors were two tiny little creatures, which bowed to them. Malik began muttering under his breath again, and Yugi looked nervously at Ryou.

"Erm…Ryou, did you let a monster out?"

"…what? No of course I didn't!" Ryou said, equally as fascinated and creeped out by the creature as Yugi was.

"Yeah, they're goblins," Hagrid explained as they approached. "Never try to outsmart a goblin."

"Hey Ryou," Malik said in Japanese as they passed through the door. "Bakura might find this interesting."

The thief fazed out of the Ring and began reading the poem inscribed on the door.

"_Enter stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly, in their turn,_

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there."_

/_Sounds like it was written just for you_/ Ryou thought dryly through the link.

//_Pff!_// Bakura snorted. //_Like that would stop a master thief such as myself. Besides, where's the fun without the risk?!_//

/_You're hopeless_/ Ryou muttered, snapping back to reality as he walked straight into Hagrid. The Professor was looking sadly at the huge queue of people waiting for access to the vaults, as the goblins examined every one of them for anything dangerous they may be carrying on their persons. Ryou had been concentrating so hard on his yami that he had not noticed where he was going.

"Ooh, sorry Hagrid. I wasn't paying attention."

"No problem," Hagrid said, offering Ryou a hand and pulling him up with so much force that he almost slammed into the giants chest instead. "You'll need to change yer money over there."

He pointed to a shorter line of people waiting at yet another desk. The goblin at the desk was scowling at everyone, with a look on his face that said he'd clearly had a very trying day, and it had only just started.

"Hagrid," Yugi said. "Are the queues here normally that long?"

"Sadly no," Hagrid sighed. "See with You-Know-Who back, the goblins have tightened security. So its hard fer people to get their money. That's why Dumbledore didn't want you three ter open accounts. It woulda taken too long."

"Next please!" the goblin snapped, making them all jump. Malik went forward first and handed over a stack of bills to the goblin, who took it and examined it briefly before handing it to another goblin at the desk behind him.

"Fifty thousand Yen!"

The goblin behind him weighed the bills on a set of scales. A small strip of paper was spat out of the side, which the goblin examined, before fetching a pouch and filling it with coins.

"How much did you bring?" Malik asked his friends curiously. "Ishizu said mine has to last me for the whole year."

"A bit more than you," Ryou said. "Father gave me some money to buy myself a birthday present."

Yugi smiled sympathetically. He knew how much Ryou missed his father. It was probably the reason he put up with Bakura so much. Living alone at home, the thief was his only contact.

"Forty galleons, eight sickles and twenty three knuts," the goblin reported, tossing the money bag to Malik, who caught it effortlessly and moved out of the line.

"Next," the goblin snapped. When the line did not appear to move, he gave everyone an irritated look. "Are you all deaf? I said 'next'!"

"Erm, I'm down here," Yugi said in a small voice. The goblin got up and leaned over his desk to see the diminutive teenager blushing furiously.

"Oh my apologies," the goblin said, though his voice was lacking in any admission of guilt. Yugi stretched up and placed his own money on the table.

"Forty thousand Yen!" the goblin reported, throwing Yugi's money to the second goblin. The scales spat out another ticket, and another money bag was filled.

"Thirty two galleons, six sickles, and twenty four knuts," the goblin said, placing the bag unhelpfully on the table so that Yugi had to stand on his toes to reach.

"Next!" the goblin said, tapping his desk impatiently. Ryou handed over his money without a word, quite ready to leave the unpleasant creatures presence.

"Fifty five thousand Yen!"

An evil grin crossed Malik's face, and his hand slipped into his pocket, feeling the cool metal of the Millennium Rod. He shook his hair forwards to cover his forehead as the Eye of Horus lit up. The goblin who had just finished filling Ryou's money pouch, suddenly gained a dazed look, and threw the full bag at the irritable goblins head. The creature yelped in pain and glared at his assistant, before shoving the pouch to Ryou.

"Forty four galleons, nine sickles, twelve knuts."

Ryou thanked him before scurrying out of line.

"He was pleasant huh?" Malik asked.

"Ah well they're all a little bit on edge right now," Hagrid explained. "C'mon. Let's get yeh robes first."

As soon as they were back in the street, Yami took over and glared at Malik.

"That was dangerous Malik," he said. "What if someone had seen?"

"Well no one did, did they?" Malik answered sweetly. "Besides, if you can challenge your teacher to a Shadow Game, I can do a little brainwashing here and there."

Yami did not have the chance to reply, as the group stepped into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

/_Never mind Yami_/ Yugi said soothingly. /_You can't stop Malik being who he is. Do you want to get my robes? We'll need them longer for when you take over_/

//_If you're sure Yugi_// Yami replied. He wasn't going to hide the fact that he had wanted the chance to look around himself. This new world was interesting, and they were going to have to learn fast, if they wanted to do as Dumbledore wanted and help everyone.

OOO

Three hours later, the three Item holders were barely visible under the pile of boxes and bags of school supplies, so Hagrid suggested going to drop them off at the Leaky Cauldron before making their last two stops. Yugi was particularly keen on this idea, as he was in serious danger of dropping the boxes, some of which were easily half his size.

"That's the last of em," Malik said, as ever the last to be ready. Hagrid was finishing what he had described to them as 'a quick drink' which was in actual fact in a glass the size of a flower pot. Ryou was shuffling his deck absently, and Yugi was gazing off into space, indicating that he was talking to the Pharaoh.

"Ready?" Hagrid asked, knocking back the last of his drink and getting up. "C'mon then. Just your wands and your animals left. D'ya know what you're gettin'?"

"I don't think I'll get a pet," Malik said. "I'm not that good with animals."

"Suit yerself," Hagrid shrugged. "I'd recommend gettin' an owl. All the kids want em."

"I was going to get a cat," Ryou said. Hagrid gave a grunt, which everyone took to mean that he didn't like the animal personally.

"I think I'll get an owl," Yugi said. "I want to be able to send letters home anyway. And you guys can send mail too if you want."

The tinkle of the shop bell caught everyone's attention. Hagrid had pushed the door of Ollivanders, and was stepping back to let everyone in. As they did, Yugi had just enough time to catch the peeling gold writing above the shop door.

//_Makers of fine wands since 382 BC_// Yami snorted aloud. //_I'm older than that_!//

/_Oh so you're admitting that you're an old man, Other me?_/ Yugi asked teasingly as they entered the cluttered and slightly dusty shop.

//_Yugi_!// Yami said in shock as his aibou laughed aloud.

/_I'm sorry, but you walked right into that one_!/

"Er…what's so funny Yugi?" Hagrid asked, and Yugi immediately closed his mouth.

"Sorry…I just thought of something funny."

/_Or someone_/ he added mentally.

//_Cheeky_// Yami muttered.

"Good afternoon," came a soft and eerie voice, that made everyone jump and caused Hagrid to knock over a stack of boxes. An old man had appeared from behind one of the many shelves. He had eyes that were almost as pale as Ryou's hair, and everyone shivered slightly. This man took creepy to a whole new level.

"…hi," Yugi tried. His friends were apparently too startled to speak.

"Would you three be the transfer students for this year?" the man, presumably Mr Ollivander, asked. All three of them nodded.

"Ah yes," Ollivander breathed, pulling out a tape measure, which immediately floated over to Yugi and began to measure. "Dumbledore explained the situation to me. I have to say, it is not every day that Hogwarts receives three new students starting in the sixth year…no not at all. Quite extraordinary indeed."

"Gee and I thought your deck was creepy Ryou," Malik muttered in Japanese, as the shopkeeper began rustling through the shelves and pulling out boxes. Little clouds of dust appeared from some of them, causing everyone to wonder how long they had been there. Yugi raised an eyebrow as he realised that the tape measure had stopped measuring his arm and his shoulders, and was now measure the spikes of his hair.

/_Do we really need wands_?/ he asked Yami. /_We have what we need for our magic_/

//_We don't want to draw attention to ourselves Aibou_// Yami pointed out //_Our own magic does not work in the same way that this magic does. However, your wand will have to be able to draw power from the Puzzle, otherwise it probably will not work_//

"Here we go Mr Mutou," Ollivander said, opening one of the boxes and handing the wand over. "Rowan and phoenix feather, ten and a half inches."

Yugi was about to ask how he knew their names, as they had never told him, before he realised that he should probably do something with the wand.

"Give it a wave," Ollivander prompted. Yugi did as he was told, but before he had done much, the shopkeeper was snatching it away.

"Nope, not that one," Ollivander said, handing over another. "Ash and unicorn tail hair ten and a half inches. Quite bouncy."

Over and over this process was repeated, until finally, Mr Ollivander pulled out what had to be the hundredth box, and handed Yugi the wand.

"Try this one," he said. "Hawthorn and Phoenix feather, nine and three quarter inches. Very solid."

Though no one else could see it, Yugi and Yami both felt it. A jolt of magic shot from the Puzzle and through the wand, causing red and purple sparks to appear from the end.

"Ooh excellent!" Ollivander cheered. "Really excellent! One down, two to go. Mr Bakura, if you would."

And so the process began again. Ryou waved the wands much in a manner that Yugi had, until he felt like his arm was going to fall off. Twice he had to stop Bakura from coming out and snapping the items in half to cure his frustration. Ryou had to admit though, despite the ache in his wrist, hearing the wand combinations was interesting. And apparently he was not the only one who thought so.

"Thirteen and a half inches, beech, three Vipertooth heartstrings. Mysterious combination."

"What's a Vipertooth?" Yugi whispered to Hagrid, as Ryou had that snatched out of his hand too.

"It's a dragon," the gamekeeper hissed back. Yugi's eyes went wide and from his soul room he could hear Yami's attention shooting up.

//_Dragons_?// the Pharaoh demanded excitedly. But he couldn't ask Yugi to enquire further, as Ollivander had handed Ryou another wand (Vine, Unicorn hair, eleven and a half inches). Blue and white sparks shot from the end.

"Bravo! Bravo!" Ollivander clapped. "And that leaves us with Mr Ishtar…"

"Would you please tell this thing to stop measuring my back?!" Malik snapped, slapping the persistent tape measure away. Even though he was wearing a shirt and a hoodie, it was clear to all who knew, that the tape measure had been measuring the distance between the hieroglyphs. The wand maker snapped his fingers and the tape measure flew back to his pocket. The first wand was handed out.

"Willow and phoenix feather, twelve and a quarter inches. Powerful combination."

It did not take Malik as long as Yugi and Ryou had to find the right wand. They had only tried about ten before Mr Ollivander handed over the correct one.

"Here. Elder, two Hebridean Black heartstrings, twelve inches. Quite temperamental,"

Though Yugi and Ryou did not comment aloud, they were both thinking just how well temperamental suited Malik, when their friend took it, and lavender and gold sparks flew from the end.

"Very good," Mr Ollivander smiled. "Those wands have chosen you to wield them. You will never get as good results with another wand as you will with those. And there may come a time in the future where that connection will save your lives."

The three boys exchanged looks. This talk was starting to creep them out again. They quickly paid the seven galleons each for their new purchases and headed back out into the ally. No sooner had they left however, when the heavens opened.

"Oh lovely," Malik said sarcastically, pulling his hood up. "Just what you expect when coming to Britain. Downpours."

"Nah don' worry," Hagrid said, airily. "Le's just get back ter the pub an' we can get yer animals later…Ryou? Ryou?"

The white haired boy had vanished from sight. In amongst the crush of wizards and witches scrambling for cover, their friend had disappeared. Malik eyed the crowd, as Hagrid pulled them in the shelter of one of the shops. A flash of white caught the Egyptian boy's attention and he raced off.

"Oh brilliant!" Hagrid huffed. "Now we've lost both of them!"

"Maybe he spotted Ryou," Yugi suggested, shivering in the cold.

//_Aibou I don't like this_// Yami said bluntly. //_Its not like Ryou to just run off. I think the Tomb Robber is up to something_//

Though he did not know it at the moment, the Pharaoh was correct. As they had left the shop, the Ring had suddenly begun pointing off towards the end of the ally, where Ryou knew that Gringotts was located. Bakura had immediately taken over and followed the glowing points of the Item, ignoring the rain that was falling around him. In the chaos of people looking for shelter, no one had noticed nor stopped him.

The Ring pulled him towards another ally, significantly darker and gloomier looking than Diagon Ally. The shops were all dark and creepy looking, with some artefacts looking as though they had crawled right out of Ryou's occult deck. A group of shrunken heads sneered at him from a shop window and the thief flicked them off. Above his head, a sign swung ominously, labelling the street as 'Knockturn Ally'.

"Bakura!" came a familiar voice, that made the thief groan. Malik pulled up beside him, panting, his hair plastered to his forehead from the rain.

"Damn you run fast!" the Tomb Keeper said, before looking off down the street, his eyes adopting a glint of adventure. "What's the deal with this place?"

"The Ring drew me here," Bakura explained, as the pointers lit up again and pointed off down the street.

"Shall we?" Malik asked keenly. Bakura eyed him. He'd much rather go on his own and send Malik back to Yugi and Hagrid. But then again, he knew Malik was crafty and not bad in a fight. Plus he had the Rod, which may come in useful. Even Bakura knew that passing up on something as useful as mind control was stupid when venturing into unfamiliar territory. Every advantage helped.

"We shall," he replied, and the two set off down the ally.

The Ring tugged its owner deep into the street. Wizards and witches that had not sought shelter from the rain stopped to stare at the newcomers, but the two paid not attention. Bakura made sure to keep one hand on the Ring and another on the knife in his pocket. Malik was keeping one hand on the Rod, which was hidden out of sight.

"Doesn't the Ring zone in on other Millennium Items?" Malik asked, switching to Ancient Egyptian so that any evesdroppers could not understand them.

"Or anything magically powerful enough to attract its attention," Bakura said. "Something like the Shadow Realm…or maybe, now that I think about it…"

"The Orichalcos," Malik realised suddenly. Bakura nodded as the pulling feeling on the Ring stopped.

"Here," he said. Malik looked up at the name of the store.

"Borgin and Burkes," he read aloud. "Looks no different to the other places in this street."

Bakura had to agree. The objects in the window were just as dark looking as the other stores had been. He snorted scornfully at one shelf that was labelled "Thieves tools".

"Pathetic," he said. "And these wizards think this is scary? I've fed move frightening things to my Man Eater Bug."

Malik, being slightly taller, had opened the door a crack and slipped his hand up and grabbed the bell to stop it ringing when they entered. The two slipped in silently.

"You're good Ishtar," Bakura muttered. "For a mortal."

"Leading the Rare Hunters taught me plenty about thievery," Malik said curtly, examining a shelf containing a selection of magical knives that were supposed to fight on their own.

"I said you were good," Bakura corrected, his eyes scanning some of the artefacts. "I didn't say you were as good as me."

"I'd have to live longer for that," Malik admitted. Bakura was distracted from a smart set of lock picks as the Ring glowed again, pointing towards the shop counter. Slipping the picks into his pocket he silently made his way to the counter, keeping a keen eye for any traps or detectors. The wooden counter did not look out of the ordinary, if you disregarded the pile of disintegrating human bones that were sitting there. Bakura knocked a fist gently along the wood checking for any hidden compartments.

"You have to wonder why people are scared of some of this stuff," Malik commented, examining a selection of masks hanging on the wall. Bakura was not listening. He was smirking and running his hands along the back of the counter. He had found a hidden compartment.

"Bakura?" Malik asked, hurrying to join him. "Find anything?"

"I may just have," Bakura said, stopping as he felt the edges of a cupboard door, which almost perfectly blended into the wood. He jumped back, cat like. A sick feeling rose in his throat. Whatever was behind that door was alive, and pulsing with evil.

"Bakura?" Malik asked, worried as to the thief's sudden reaction. He cautiously touched the cupboard, only to recoil also.

"That feels wrong," Bakura said bluntly. "And horribly familiar."

Swiftly, ignoring the sick feeling as he grasped the wood, Bakura dug his fingernails into the gap and wrenched it open. The door swung aside to reveal the object responsible.

"Sweet Isis!" Malik gasped. "That thing is huge!"

Bakura had to agree. There in front of them lay a chunk of Orichalcum, roughly the size of a football. It glowed much in the same way a heart would beat with life and the surface was uneven and scarred. Bakura swallowed. He could almost feel the darkness calling out to him…begging him to touch it…

"What are you doing?!" Malik yelped, grabbing his hand. Bakura snapped out of his trance. His fingers were inches from the rock. "Don't you remember what the Pharaoh said?"

Bakura felt rage rise in him and he was tempted to turn and hit Malik before cursing the Pharaoh out to the world.

/_No Yami_!/ came Ryou's voice from his soul room. /_Remember this is what the Orichalcos does. It prays on your anger and your darkness_/

Normally Bakura would have snapped at his hikari, but he knew that what Ryou was saying was the truth. He struggled to regain control of himself. He didn't need the Orichalcos controlling him. Nothing controlled the great Thief King.

"Look at it," Malik said, pointing at the stone, but not actually touching it. "It's all jagged at the sides. Looks like someone's been hacking away at it."

Bakura looked and realised that he was right. There were small indents along the edge of the stone, which looked like someone had chipped bits of it away, either with a chisel or a spell.

"Good observation," Bakura noted. Malik shrugged.

"The Tomb I lived in used to get blasted by sandstorms all the time. You'd be surprised how quickly you can tell weathered and intentionally damaged rock apart."

Bakura shrugged and went back to the problem at hand.

"What are we going to do about this?" he asked. "I don't think leaving it here is an option. That stuff is dangerous."

Malik nodded. "Do you think we can blast it apart somehow?"

"You got a bomb on you?" Bakura asked dryly, before snapping his fingers in realisation.

"What are you doing?" Malik asked, as Bakura pulled out his deck.

"Just watch," the thief said simply.

"What are you two kids doing in my shop?!" a voice demanded. Both of the thieves jumped up straight, to see a very angry looking man standing there, clutching a knife in one hand and his wand in another. Malik reacted first, pulling out the Millennium Rod and putting the man under its control.

"I've got him," he assured Bakura. "You deal with the rock."

Bakura nodded, and pulled Dark Necrofear from his deck. A second later the female fiend stood in the shop.

"Dark Necrofear, blast this rock into dust," Bakura ordered. The fiend complied, and a beam of energy shot from her eyes and disintegrated the whole counter. Both were horrified when the dust cleared, to see the Orichalcum still unharmed.

"What in the name of…?" Bakura asked faintly. He looked at his monster, who was looking rather ashamed that she had not done the job properly. Bakura squashed his irritation. It seemed that a twenty two hundred attack point strength wasn't going to be enough to break this thing. The bits that had been chipped off it before must have been done by someone who knew how to manipulate the magic of the Orichalcos.

"Bakura!" Malik said urgently. "We'd better go before someone comes to investigate that noise."

"We can't just leave it here!" Bakura raged. "And it's too dangerous to take with us."

The rumble of an approaching crowd caused both the boys to gulp.

"Just leave it," Malik said, grabbing the thief's hand. "We can tell Dumbledore when we get to school and he can deal with it. Let's go before our bones wind up on display!"

Bakura quickly dismissed Dark Necrofear and allowed himself to be dragged back to the door. They were met with a curious and slightly angry crowd of onlookers, and they ducked out of the way and began to walk casually back toward Diagon Ally. But though they could escape the fractured Orichalcum, they could not escape the lingering feeling of dread and gloom that the poor weather only seemed to amplify.

OOO

Back in the shelter of Diagon Ally, Hagrid and Yugi were back in Florish and Blotts, but this time they were not buying. They were searching for Ryou and Malik. While Hagrid interrogated the shopkeeper, who was looking worried as the giant moved around his precious perilously stacked books, Yugi searched the shop. Of course with Yami, this made things twice as easy.

//_Nothing here_// the spirit said, hurrying back to Yugi's side. The shorter of the two was examining the Magiczoology shelves, for any sign of the white haired boy and the gold decked Egyptian.

/_Me neither_/ Yugi said. /_I hope they're all right. We'd better get back to Hagrid before he thinks we've run off too though_/

Yami agreed and disappeared back into the Puzzle. They found Hagrid at the doorway, questioning three people who looked about Yugi's age, one with dark hair, green eyes and glasses, one with red hair and freckles, and a girl with brown bushy hair.

"Yeh sure ya haven't seen em?" Hagrid asked hopefully.

"Sorry Hagrid," the girl replied. "We haven't seen anyone by that description."

The giant groaned, but brightened up slightly as Yugi approached.

"I checked the back Hagrid, they aren't there either," the duellist replied. Hagrid seemed to deflate.

"Whoa! How do you get your hair like that?!" the red haired boy blurted. The girl stamped on his foot.

"Honestly Ron! Your manners are appalling!"

"Its natural," Yugi replied, blushing slightly.

"Sorry there," Hagrid said realising that he should probably be making introductions. "Harry, Ron, Hermione, this is Yugi. He'll be joining your year at Hogwarts. Yugi, this is Harry, Ron and Hermione. They're students at Hogwarts."

"Nice to meet you," Yugi said bowing to them. His greeting took them all by surprise.

"Erm hi Yugi," Hermione finally managed to say. "It's nice to meet you too. Where are you transferring from?"

"Japan," Yugi replied. Hermione's eyes narrowed slightly.

"I didn't know there were magic schools in Japan. The nearest one I know of in the Far East is the Oriental Institution of Sorcery in Beijing. Is that where you're transferring from?"

Yugi was about to open his mouth and correct them, when he spotted two familiar heads running past the shop. Yami immediately took over, knowing that he was faster.

"Oh Ra," he muttered. "Bakura and Malik running is never a good thing."

And he bolted out of the door before anyone could ask what he meant.

"I…" – gasp – "think we," – pant – "lost them," Malik managed to get out, leaning against the wall of the Apothecary. Beside him, Bakura nodded mutely. He and Malik had been leaving the ally when Borgin had caught up with them. Unfortunately there had been a crowd of hags nearby who upon hearing Borgin's shout, had needed little reason to join in the hunt.

"Bakura! Malik!"

"Oh bloody hell," Bakura muttered as Yami strode into view, looking torn between anger at their disappearance and alarmed at their current appearance.

"You look like hell," he greeted. "Where in Ra's name have you been?!"

"Exploring," Bakura replied sourly. Malik, having caught his breath enough to talk properly, straightened up to explain.

"The Ring dragged us to a store, in a place called Knockturn Ally," he said. "The owner has a chunk of Orichalcum underneath the counter."

The Pharaoh's jaw dropped.

"What happened?" he asked. "Are you both okay?"

"Fine," Malik said. "Bakura almost touched the damned thing, but I stopped him."

"Oh cram a sock in it Ishtar!" Bakura snapped. "I'm going to rest in my soul room."

And he vanished without another word, leaving a very peeved Ryou in his place.

"I hope he realises just how dangerous that was," he muttered, before noticing a familiar approaching figure. "We'd better talk about this later, Hagrid's coming. Oh and we need to send a letter to Dumbledore about this when we get back."

Malik nodded, and straightened up, trying to look as though he had not just been running for his life. Yami also disappeared back to his soul room.

"There yeh are!" Hagrid said. "Oh yeh found em did ya Yugi? Where were you two anyway?"

"Sorry," Ryou replied sheepishly. "We got dragged away by the crowd."

Hagrid sighed and ran his hand through his wet hair, making it even messier.

"Well I guess if yeh okay. Just be more careful next time. Don't do ter be wanderin' off when it's this dangerous. C'mon, let's go get yeh animals and then we can get out of this rain."

They headed off to Eeylops Owl Emporium, where Yugi walked around the darkness with an amazed look on his face as all the bright eyed owls stared back at him. Eventually a barn owl came and sat on his head, which Yugi took to mean that he liked him.

"What you going to call him?" Malik asked, as they left ten minutes later with Yugi beaming as his owl sat on his shoulder.

"I don't know," he said, stroking the bird's feathers gently. "I'll have to think about it."

He was still thinking about it as they entered the Magical Menagerie. Ryou immediately headed off to look at the cats, who were all sitting in baskets in one corner of the shop. Yugi noticed Malik looking nervously at an Egyptian cobra coiled up in a basket by the door.

"You alright Malik?" Yugi asked.

"Fine," the blond replied. "I just don't like snakes. I was bitten by one when I was little."

Yugi winced, but Malik just continued to look moody. The effects of the Orichalcum had left him feeling depressed, and he couldn't help thinking about the amount of trouble Odion had been in after the snake had bitten him.

"_Stupid father," _the blond thought, glaring at the snake as though it were responsible for all his problems.

Meanwhile, Ryou was looking at a basket beside the counter, in which six smoky grey kittens were crawling around. One of them was pushed out of the basket by another, and Ryou immediately scooped the tiny creature up.

"How old are these kittens?" he asked the lady at the counter. The others all looked big, but this one didn't seem old enough to be taken away from its mother yet.

"Those ones?" the woman said, pursing her lips and peering at the kitten cradled in the boys arms. "Seven weeks. That one's the runt though. Poor little scrap. She's always getting pushed around by the others.

"_Just like me," _Ryou thought, remembering how unhappy his Primary school life had been. He had always been the smallest and most timid boy there, and his hair had only given the bullies more reason to pick on him. He set the kitten down on the floor and she began to wrap around his hand, purring contently.

//_Good choice_// the thief commented. Ryou found himself looking at the spectral form of his darker half, who was watching the feline with a strange look on his face.

/_You like cats_?/ Ryou asked in surprise.

//_We used to worship them in Egypt_// the thief said fondly. //_They were useful for keeping rats and snakes away. The punishment for killing a cat, even accidentally, was death. I remember_…// he trailed off sadly, before continuing in a faraway voice //_I remember when my mother was pregnant with my sister, we'd pray to Bastet, the cat deity. She was the goddess of motherhood_//

He sounded extremely depressed at the thought, and Ryou felt a strange unexpected jolt of empathy and understanding for his yami. He clearly still missed his family, in the same way that Ryou missed his own.

A mewl caught their attention. The tiny kitten had lost interest in Ryou and was looking at Bakura. Even though he was invisible she could clearly still sense him. Experimentally, the thief held out a hand, and the cat marched up to it, attempted to rub against it and, squeaked as she fell through him. Ryou giggled slightly.

/_I think that's what I'll call her_/ Ryou replied thoughtfully. /_Bastet. I like it_/

The thief seemed to realise just how he was acting and he swiftly withdrew his hand and retreated to the Ring. Ryou sighed, but inside he was feeling slightly less irritated at his darker side than he would have been usually. He didn't really have the heart to be exasperated with Bakura. He knew that no matter how old you were, there were some things in life that never stopped hurting.

Unaware of the new sense of understanding she had just caused between the two people, Bastet mewled again and nuzzled against Ryou's jacket affectionately.

* * *

**A/N:** I am so sorry this is late everyone! To add further injury I'm moving back to Uni, and our house will not have internet until Sept 24th! I might however, be able to get another chapter up if the university library will let me go on fanfiction, but I can't promise anything.

The crap British weather in paragraph three of this chapter, was my little tribute to the crap weather we've been having all summer here in the UK. Apparently this is the wettest summer we've had since the 1600s. And then suddenly last week, the weather perked up.

Did anyone else notice my little Doctor Who thievery in there?

Erm, the incident with Chono-sensei happened in episode 10 of season 0. I haven't read the manga in which this features, but I imagine it's probably one of the first ones.

With regards to Ollivander, I know in HBP he's been kidnapped by this point, but I'm doing my own thing mostly. I'm borrowing a few things from HBP such as Slughorn and the lesson timetable, but that's about it. It won't be my story if I copy it religiously from the book.

I apologise if Bakura seemed OOC with the cat. But the Orichalcos made him feel a little bit negative and broody like Malik was feeling when he saw the snake. Plus Bakura can't be mean all the time. And all the info about the Egyptians worshipping cats is all true. I love cats!

To my two best friends: Did you spot my little dedication to you? Did ya?!


	5. Chapter 5: A Harmless Game

**Disclaimer: **If I owned YuGiOh and Harry Potter I would not be posting this story online. You'd all have to pay!

**Chapter 5: A Harmless Game**

"Okay seriously," Malik said bluntly. "What was Hagrid on when he gave us these, and where can I get some?"

The three of them were standing on platforms nine and ten of King Cross train station. Their trunks had been placed on trolleys, in which sat their possessions from home as well as their school supplies that had been purchased the day before. Bastet sat curled up in a wicker basket on Ryou's trunk, and Yugi's owl, whom he had finally decided to call Taiyo, was sitting in his cage, his head tucked under his wings to shield his eyes from the light of day. Yugi had been afraid for a while that morning that they would have to leave without him, as the owl was still delivering their letter about the incident in Knockturn Ally to Dumbledore. However just as they were about to set off for the station, Taiyo had arrived back, just in time for Yugi to hastily shut him up in his cage.

"Hope it doesn't rain again," the tri colour haired teen muttered, glancing up at the still overcast sky.

"Well done Yugi, you've jinxed it now," Malik said in a fake cheerful voice.

"It must be here somewhere," Ryou said, his voice tinged with notable frustration. They had fifteen minutes to get on the train and they were not even on the platform yet.

Noting their light's distress, Yami and Bakura were standing in spirit form beside the trolleys. Both of them were staring at the barrier between platforms nine and ten with frowns on their faces. As one, they both turned to look at each other.

"You can feel it too can't you Pharaoh?" Bakura asked, nodding at the barrier. Yami nodded. He could indeed feel the magic pulsing from the barrier. He guessed it was some kind of gateway to the platform. The question was how to get onto it?

"You guys feel something?" Yugi asked, forgetting that they were in a public station and it currently looked as though he were talking to thin air. His darker half nodded.

"There is magic coming from the barrier," he said. All three bearers looked at the solid brick wall.

"Okay so we know where the entrance is," Malik said. "Got any ideas how to get through it?"

"As of yet?" Bakura said. "No."

Fortunately their salvation had just arrived in the form of a family of redheads.

"Yugi! Hi there!"

The three new students turned to see Harry, Ron, Hermione and others who could only be Ron's family approaching them. A red haired man and a red haired woman were leading the four students across the platform, each one pushing their trolleys. On top of Harry's trunk sat a large snowy owl, and on top of Ron's another owl who did not seem able to sit still. A cat basket was perched on top of Hermione's. The final girl, who Yugi guessed was Ron's younger sister, was giving the three transfers the look that they usually received when greeted by new people. A group of stern looking wizards stood professionally behind the group, giving the distinct impression that the family were under guard.

At the sight of the familiar faces, Yugi beamed.

"Good morning," he said bowing to them.

"Coulda fooled me," Ron remarked, looking skywards through the shelter of the platform at the grey clouds. Yugi giggled, and Hermione rolled her eyes. Harry did not respond, and Yugi could not help noticing that he was looking extremely uncomfortable and kept glancing at the guards behind them.

"We thought we might find you out here," Ron explained. "The hair kinda gave it away…ow! Hermione!"

The exclamation was a result of Hermione elbowing him in the side for making Yugi uncomfortable.

"Are these your friends?" Hermione asked directly. Yugi nodded and turned to look at Ryou and Malik, who were standing uncomfortably by the trolleys, not quite knowing whether to say anything.

"This is Ryou," he introduced. Ryou just smiled awkwardly. He'd never done well with new people.

"And this is Malik," Yugi finished. Malik just nodded at them, looking nervously up at the clock. It was ten minutes to eleven.

"Guys, these are Harry, Ron and Hermione. Hagrid introduced us yesterday in Diagon Ally, while you guys were causing chaos."

"We were not causing chaos!" Malik retorted. Ryou scoffed.

"The mob of angry hags that were chasing us would beg to differ," he said. Everyone present raised an eyebrow.

"You had a mob of hags chasing you?" Ron asked curiously. Hermione interrupted.

"We can talk on the train. We should really go now. People are starting to stare."

"Are you trying to get onto the platform?" Mrs Weasley said knowledgably. Yugi blushed slightly and nodded.

"Yes. We're guessing it has something to do with the barrier, but we just don't know what."

"You're quite right," Mrs Weasley smiled. "You just need to run straight at it to get through. Watch Ginny now."

With curious expressions, Yugi, Ryou and Malik watched as Ginny and Mr Weasley both ran towards the brick wall. A split second later they had passed straight through it as though the bricks were nothing but water. The three transfers blinked slowly.

"Whoa," Yugi said mutely. "That was…interesting."

To all those who didn't know him, Ryou seemed to smirk evilly.

"Well off you go Yugi!" he said, pushing the shorter boy towards the wall.

"Wha…?!" Yugi yelped, but his trolley had picked up speed now, so he had no choice but to keep moving.

//_Stupid Tomb Robber_!// Yami was cursing as the trolley, boy and spirit went straight through the wall.

"That was satisfying to watch," Bakura remarked, before taking his own trolley and pushing it towards the wall. "Move it or miss it Ishtar!"

The Egyptian grinned as Bakura went through the barrier.

"That actually looks fun!" he said, charging toward the wall, and jumping onto the back of his trolley as he went.

"They're weird," Ron said, and even Hermione could not reprimand him for that.

"I…am going…to kill you." Yami said bluntly, as soon as Bakura appeared on the right side of the platform.

"How many times have you said that to me now Pharaoh?" Bakura asked smugly. "And look at me, I'm still alive…in a manner of speaking."

"Lighten up Yami," Malik said, as he appeared beside the other two. "It was just a bit of fun!"

The Pharaoh just snorted, and let Yugi back in control. The light was still slightly flushed from running headfirst into the wall.

"Come on then," Malik said, clapping Yugi on the back and heading towards the train. The other two trailed behind him, Bakura letting Ryou back in control now that his mischief making was over.

The train was already crowded with students, most of them hanging out the windows or doors to say goodbye to their parents. The glaring, mildly intimidating looking Egyptian managed to clear a path through the train however, letting his friends follow behind, both red faced and exhausted from lugging their trunks down the carriage corridors.

"Here we go," Malik said. "This one is empty."

"A…little…help…" Yugi panted. "Would really…be appreciated…Malik."

"What?" the Egyptian asked, before realising what had been asked of him. "Oh sure."

In no time at all, all three trunks were safely put away and all three boys had crashed onto the seats in exhaustion. Malik sat with his head on the window, arms around his chest hugging himself from the cold. Yugi sat next to him, fiddling with the chain on the Puzzle. On the other side of the compartment, Ryou had let Bastet out of her cage and she had curled up on his lap, purring as the boy stroked her absently.

"Hey guys." There was a knock at the door, and everyone turned to see Harry, Hermione and Ron outside.

"Is there any room for us?" Hermione asked. "Ron and I just need to put our trunks somewhere. We've got to go to the Prefects Carriage."

"Go ahead," Yugi offered, before Malik could object. Yugi knew that their Egyptian friend was mildly anti-social, not that he could blame him, after all he had not had the happiest of childhoods. More than anything though, Malik would probably want to be able to speak freely about the Items and the yamis. Yugi however was keen to learn more about the school, plus he was naturally friendly. Ryou made himself unnoticeable in the corner, just as he had done all the time at school.

"Thanks," Ron said gratefully, shoving his trunk out of the way. Harry sat himself next to Ryou.

"We'll see you later," Hermione said, waving. Yugi and Ryou waved back, but Malik just nodded. As Yugi had predicted, he was moody.

Harry took a second to look over the three occupants of the carriage. They were definitely the strangest bunch of people he had ever seen. It had of course been twenty four hours since he had seen Yugi's height and hair, so it did not hold his attention as much as it had during their first introduction. His eyes caught the young wizard's attention now. They were large and a vibrant shade of amethyst that radiated innocence.

The person next to him, Malik, seemed aloof, and rather closed, despite the fact that his appearance screamed for attention. His hair was long and bleach blonde and he wore enough gold jewellery to sink a small ship. Underneath the unzipped black hooded jacket, Harry could see that his shirt did not cover his midriff, revealing tanned skin that definitely did not look Japanese. Once again, he had unusual eyes, which were an interesting shade of lavender and were outlined in kohl.

Ryou was the one really confusing Harry. The boy seemed very quiet, withdrawn and…dare he say it…shy? He seemed nothing like the loud pushy boy that had shoved his friend off into the barrier. His hair was about Malik's length, and pure white, with just the barest hint of silver. His eyes were a soft shade of brown, and right now they seemed blank and distant.

The transfers certainly did not look Japanese, Harry thought, and he wondered what their story was. They had to have some reason for coming halfway around the world just to go to school.

Ryou's vague look was due to the fact he was currently observing his yami in spirit form. Bakura seemed very fond of his hikari's cat, something that had not gone unnoticed by Ryou, though he supposed he should at least be relieved that Bastet appeared to be safe from the Tomb Robber. Yugi took out his deck and began to shuffle the cards. Malik sighed loudly.

"I'm bored," he said. Yugi sighed.

"We haven't even left the station yet Malik," he said.

"I know, that's why I'm bored," Malik told him.

"Well we won't be at the castle until about six this evening," Harry told them. Malik's jaw dropped open.

"Seven hours on a train with no entertainment? I'm gonna go insane!" he declared weakly.

"And that is different from regular life how?" Ryou said. Yugi giggled in agreement before turning to smile at Harry.

"You looked a bit depressed out on the platform Harry. Is everything alright?"

Harry sighed. Yugi was correct. He had been feeling depressed ever since they had departed for the train station that morning. He felt bad for putting the Weasley's in such danger, especially when they were required to be accompanied to the station by a group of Aurors.

"Nothing really," he shrugged. "Just the Auror's who had to tail us to the station were getting on my nerves."

"Aurors?" Yugi asked curiously. Harry blinked.

"Dark wizard catchers," he explained. Outside, the trains whistle blew and there was a thunder of footsteps as the last few students hurried to get onboard.

"Why did they need to tail you?" Yugi asked. Harry was slightly taken aback. He would have thought everyone would have been able to guess why he needed to be guarded.

"To make sure Voldemort doesn't get to me," he said briefly. Yugi's frown only increased.

"Remember?" Ryou prompted his friend. "Voldemort was the Dark Wizard that Dumbledore warned us about."

"I remember," Yugi said. "Its just I didn't see anyone else being guarded out there."

"You really don't know do you?" Harry asked, with a hint of laughter in his voice.

"Know what?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah we don't like not being in the know," Malik said. "Tell us what we're missing. Please?"

"Sorry its just most people in the Wizarding world know me, and so I was just a bit surprised."

Harry didn't sound boastful about the fact. On the contrary, all three of them were slightly surprised to hear that the young man sounded almost bitter about it.

"Voldemort tried to kill me when I was a baby," Harry explained. "He killed my parents that night too."

Malik's eyes widened slightly, and Ryou froze in the motion of stroking Bastet.

"Ooh I shouldn't have said anything," Yugi said aghast. "Sorry!"

"No that's fine," Harry said. "It's actually quite refreshing to meet people who don't know who I am. Well the short story is…"

By the time he had given the three new students the shortened version of his life, they had pulled out of Kings Cross and the train was already making its way through the crowded suburbs of London, the restless clouds growing darker and darker as they went.

Harry felt far more cheerful and relaxed around the newcomers. They did seem nice. Malik had opened up slightly, now that he was no longer bored, and even Ryou seemed a little more animated. Telling them his story had not been the easiest experience, but they had taken it well. He had given them the basics, particularly making sure not to mention anything about the Prophecy. He had told Ron and Hermione over the holidays, and he was sure that he wanted no one else to know about it.

"Wow," Malik said, not quite sure how to react. "We thought our lives were bad."

Yugi and Ryou exchanged smiles. They knew their lives had been just as bad, but of course, they could not tell Harry this.

"You mentioned something about Voldemort being a Slytherin," Ryou asked, frowning. "What's a Slytherin?"

"Slytherin is one of the four school houses," Harry explained. "Whichever house you belong too is the one you'll be living with for the rest of the year. There's a bit of a rivalry going between Gryffindor – that's the house I'm in – and Slytherin. Generally Slytherin's are known for producing Dark Wizards, though not all are bad I guess."

"So what are the other two houses?" Yugi asked, quite keen to drop the topic of Voldemort.

"Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff," Harry recited.

"And how do they choose the houses?" Ryou asked, slightly worried now that they were going to have to perform magic.

"Don't worry its not hard," Harry said. "That was my reaction too. But all they do it put this hat on your head and it tells you which house you deserve in. It kinda senses what sort of person you are."

"It…senses what kind of person we are?" Ryou asked, now sounding totally alarmed. After all, there was plenty he did not want this hat to know about him, or more specifically, the spirit who shared his head.

"Yeah, but don't worry, it's not like it can tell anyone," Harry said, noticing the panicked looks that crossed all their faces. He was now very intrigued. Did they have skeletons in their closet that they didn't want anyone to find out about?

He had no chance to prod further, as at this point, the lady with the food trolley came past and Malik's jaw dropped with an audible clunking sound. Harry hurried out to make his purchases, and the other three boys scrambled for their money pouches.

Five minutes later, the compartment was full of sweets, most of which were being inhaled by an extremely hungry Malik.

"Are you taking Joey's place for 'resident food freak' while he's not here?" Yugi asked in amusement. Malik glared at him, but it was a hard expression to pull off as his cheeks were stuffed with Cauldron Cake, giving him the uncanny resemblance of a blond chipmunk.

"Who's Joey?" Harry asked, gnawing on a chocolate frog.

"Friend from home," Yugi said, before snapping his fingers. "That reminds me. I'd better write a letter to them and check that they're okay."

He rummaged in his trunk for a while before returning with a pot of ink, a quill and a few pieces of parchment. In between eating the food, he began to write. Harry leaned over in interest, before realising that Yugi was writing in Kanji, so he wouldn't be able to understand anyway.

"Ugh! That's disgusting!" Ryou said, spitting out a Bertie Botts Every Flavour Bean and throwing it out the window.

//_Ryou_!// Bakura wailed miserably. //_That was blood flavoured_!//

/_Exactly_!/

"Every flavour," Yugi said reading the box, before they were snatched out of his hand by Malik. "Hey I was reading that!"

"Yeah and I'm eating that!" Malik informed him, helping himself to a bean. "Oh brilliant! A little taste of home. I got sand flavoured!"

"They have sand in Japan?" Harry asked curiously.

"I was bought up in Egypt," Malik explained, in between more beans. "Just outside Luxor to be precise. Have to say nearly all food tasted like sand actually."

At this point, Ron and Hermione reappeared, both looking as though they had had an exhausting day. Ron's eyes lit up at the sight of food, where as Hermione just grumbled aloud to herself.

"Honestly!" she fumed as she sat next to Yugi. "The people on this train are unbelievable."

"What happened?" Harry asked, wondering what could have possibly happened in the course of a Prefect meeting to upset her so.

"Everyone was asking us about you mate," Ron said, sitting next to Harry and stealing a Pumpkin Pastry from under Malik's nose. "Wanted to know everything that happened at the Ministry last June. We didn't tell them anything of course. Neville, Ginny and Luna are getting asked too of course, but they're keeping quiet. Ginny's on her sixth Bat Bogey Hex for today."

Harry was very relieved to hear this. He felt slightly bad that his friends had to put up with pestering from the rest of the school population, and he was touched by how loyal they were being.

"Sounds like you have nice friends," Yugi smiled, before dropping his gaze back to the letters he was penning. He looked sad for a second and Harry guessed that the shorter boy was thinking how much he was going to miss his friends in Japan.

"So where exactly did you guys transfer from?" Hermione asked curiously, pulling a book out of her trunk and settling down to read. "Which school?"

Yugi gulped remembering this question from the day before. Ryou however seemed to have picked up on his friend's cautiousness, so he replied for him, propping his head up from where it was resting against the window. He had given up on the food.

"We all attended Domino High school before this," he said, casually trying another bean. This time he was lucky. It was vanilla. Hermione's eyes had narrowed.

"A High school? You mean you weren't attending a school of magic?"

"No," Malik said cheerfully, before reaching for a chocolate frog. "Heck, I'd only been in formal education for a term before we came here. I'd been home schooled most of my life."

"But then…" Hermione appeared very lost and had seemingly abandoned her book in favour of this far more interesting topic. "If you've never been to a magic school before, how is it that you're joining the sixth year?"

"We're going to be catching up," Yugi said. "We're only doing five subjects apiece, and we can drop one if the work gets too hard."

Hermione looked sceptical at this, particularly the idea that they were going to be catching up on five years of work. But Ron fielded the next question.

"So what's your story? I mean if you've never been to a magic school before, how is it you are now?"

"Bit of a fluke actually," Malik remarked unwrapping his chocolate frog. "What?" he asked, seeing the raised eyebrow expressions from his friend's. "It was! There we were, happily walking through the park, when Death Eaters show up. They wouldn't have known we had magic if we hadn't managed to hold them off."

Ron gagged on his Pumpkin Pastry and Hermione leaned over and thumped him on the back with the book she was reading.

"Seriously?" Harry asked. "You fought off Death Eaters? When you had no idea you had magic?"

"Well that's not true," Yugi said. "We did know we had magic, it's just that no one else knew about it."

//_Be careful Aibou_// Yami cautioned. //_We don't want to give anything away_//

/_I know Other me. I'm being careful_/ Yugi assured the Pharaoh. To all those watching, he seemed to smile sweetly for no apparent reason. Malik distracted everyone by snorting at the card he had found with his chocolate frog.

"We have better cards than those things," he said, with a smirk. "Speaking of which." He pulled what everyone guessed was supposed to be a sweet and pleading look, but he only succeeded in looking extremely creepy.

"Ryyyyyyyyyyyyyoooooooooooou!" he drawled. The white haired boy did not look at his friend. His head was resting against the window, eyes closed, with his feet pulled up onto the seat. Bastet was curled up beside his hand, which was resting on his lap.

"Yes Malik?" Ryou replied, not opening his eyes. In truth he had actually been in his soul room with the intention of sleeping the rest of the journey away. But it seemed that Malik was not going to let him do that.

"Can you pretty please duel me?" the blond asked.

"Do I have to?" Ryou asked stifling a yawn.

"Yes," Malik said. "Because if not I will go insane from boredom."

"I reiterate," Ryou said, still not opening his eyes. "How would that be different from normal life?"

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease?!" Malik begged.

//_Well if you won't I will_// Bakura said, and that was all the warning Ryou had before he found himself lying back in his soul room. He shrugged to himself before settling against the cushions on the floor. He would have to trust that his yami would not do anything too psychotic. Back in the real world, Ryou's hair seemed to spike, and when his eyes opened to fix on Malik's, they had taken on a reddish hue.

"Okay Malik, you're on!" the Tomb Robber smirked. He pulled his deck out of his pocket, sat up properly, and gently picked up Bastet and placed her back in her basket.

/_Did_ _I just see Bakura being gentle with a living creature_?/ Yugi asked incredulously.

//_I'm not surprised_// Yami said. //_He is Egyptian after all. We had a very high respect for cats back in my time_//

Harry, Ron and Hermione, who up until this point had been watching, not understanding the conversation, now decided that they should speak up.

"Erm…its not a good idea to have a wizards duel in the train. Someone could get hurt," Hermione said.

"I don't know how wizards duel," said Yugi. "But this isn't dangerous at all."

The absurdity of this statement seemed to catch up with him as soon as it had left his mouth, and he burst out laughing. Bakura snorted and Malik stifled his chuckles.

"Hmm…harmless children's card game right Yugi?" Bakura asked in Japanese with an eyebrow raised. "And the side excursions to the Shadow Realm were vacations were they?"

"Yugi you keep life points," Malik ordered, shuffling his cards before swapping decks with Bakura. He cut the cards and handed them back. Yugi pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment and watched his friends draw their first hand.

"This is how muggles duel?" Ron asked curiously. "With cards?"

"Pretty much," Bakura remarked casually.

"Heads," Malik told Yugi, as the shorter flipped a coin.

"Tails," Yugi reported. "Ba…Ryou goes first."

"Why thank you," Bakura said, drawing a sixth card and studying his hand. "I'll open with my Headless Knight in attack mode…"

He set the card on the table and Harry, Ron and Hermione leaned over to look at the card.

"Gee Ryou," Ron said, studying the rest of his hand. "Your cards are creepy."

His two friends had to agree. Most of the monsters looked as though they had leaped straight out of a nightmare. The white haired boy rolled his eyes.

"It's an occult deck. It's _supposed_ to be creepy. One card facedown. Your go Malik."

The Egyptian smirked, and pulled a single card from his deck.

"One card facedown," he said. "And I'll play the spell card, Jam Breeding Machine. I'll place Drillago in attack mode and I'll attack your Headless Knight."

Bakura scowled and moved his monster to the graveyard, before flipping his facedown card over. It was Ultimate Offering. Malik nodded.

"End turn," he turned to Yugi who was scribbling down the life points. "Too bad we can't use duel disks in such a small space. But as soon as we get to Hogwarts…"

"What's a duel disk?" Harry asked, as Bakura drew and studied his cards.

"They're machines we use to bring the cards to life," Yugi explained. "They create holographic projections of the monsters and their effects. Makes the game more exciting."

Hermione raised an eyebrow and Harry's jaw dropped.

"Okay I never heard about this and I live with muggles."

"You don't live in Japan," Bakura pointed out obviously, he was a little irritated at these constant questions. He was finding it hard to concentrate.

"All that for a card game?" Hermione asked sceptically. "It seems a bit extreme to me."

All three duellists exchange looks before shaking their heads. It was hard to understand unless you were a fan.

"Anyway, if its muggle technology," Hermione added, not noticing the looks that passed their faces. "You won't be able to use it at Hogwarts. Nothing electronic works there."

Bakura and Malik both cursed in Ancient Egyptian, and Yugi looked distinctly put out.

"You mean we're going to have to duel the old fashioned way for a year?" Bakura asked. The three sixth years nodded and Bakura groaned and thumped his head against the table.

"Calm down Bakura," Yugi said. "I'm sure we'll survive…somehow."

//_I concur with Malik previous statement_// Yami said //_Insanity here I come…//_

There was a knock at the door, and Seamus Finnigan came in followed by Dean Thomas. They beamed at their classmates.

"Alright guys?!" Seamus asked. "Good summers?"

There was a round of greetings and pleasantries, which the three transfers politely ignored, preferring to keep their mind on the game. Had they been paying attention, they would have seen Dean eyeing their lowered heads with a curious look.

"Hey Harry," Seamus asked. "We were wondering if you were going to carry on with the DA this year."

Harry shrugged. "Depends on the teacher. If they're good, we might not bother. But then again, I guess if enough people are interested we might keep it going."

"What's the DA?" Yugi asked, tearing his head away as Malik sacrificed one of his Slime Tokens to summon his Legendary Fiend. Dean's eyes widened.

"It's a defence group we started last year," Harry explained. "Our teacher was rubbish so we decided to do it ourselves."

"I know you!" Dean suddenly shouted hysterically, pointing a finger at Yugi, who shrank in his seat. "You're Yugi Mutou! And you two!" he pointed at Bakura and Malik, both whom were looking thoroughly peeved at the constant interruptions. "You're Ryou Bakura and Malik Ishtar aren't you?"

"Oh bloody hell, he's a fanboy!" Bakura muttered, rolling his eyes and resisting the urge to send someone to the Shadow Realm. Harry was looking very confused.

"How do you know them Dean? They're new students."

"They're three of the top five duellists in the world!" Dean said, now pointing excitedly at the duel monster cards on the table. "They're huge in Japan! Can I have your autographs please?"

"Only if you swear on pain of death not to tell anyone else that we are on this train!" Malik said seriously. "We do not want to be mobbed by fangirls."

"Too late," Seamus reported. "Half the people in the other compartments stuck their heads out when he started yelling."

Malik began cursing, but thankfully he had the foresight to do so in Arabic. Bakura gripped the cards in his hand so tightly that he was in danger of punching holes in them with his nails. Yugi however, just sighed.

"Well we knew it was going to happen sooner or later," he said, reaching for another piece of parchment. Yugi took the paper and wrote his signature in perfectly scripted kanji. He handed it over to Bakura, who scrawled his host's name in English, before handing it over to Malik, who wrote his name in Arabic.

"Here," Yugi said, passing it back to Dean. The boy's face beamed. He didn't seem to care that he couldn't read two of the languages.

"Cool! Thanks!"

And he shot off with Seamus in tow.

"Bloody hell," Ron remarked. Harry meanwhile, raised an eyebrow.

"Was there something you three wanted to tell us?"

"Erm…" Malik trailed off uncomfortably. "Did we neglect to mention that we're famous?"

Their three companions nodded mutely.

"Oh…whoops," Yugi said sheepishly.

"I'll say!" Ron said. "Why didn't you tell us you were famous?"

"Because sometimes we like to go somewhere where we can just feel like normal kids," Yugi said.

"Sucks doesn't it?" Harry asked.

"Yep," Yugi and Malik said together. Bakura's patience finally snapped.

"Will you please finish your move Ishtar! I'm getting bored!"

"Oh I'm so sorry Bakura," Malik said, though he did not sound sorry at all. "Okay where was I…?"

For the next hour or so, the games continued as the predicated rain began to come down outside their window in heavy sheets. In between tracking life points, Yugi managed to finish his letters to his friends, and wake Taiyo up from his slumber and send them off. He had no idea how long it would take for the owl to reach Japan, but he hoped it would not be long. He'd only been away from home for three days and already he was anxious.

Hermione quickly lost interest in Duel Monsters and went back to her book. Harry was fascinated by the monsters and how passionately the three seemed to feel about the game, but he knew he felt exactly the same way about Quidditch, so he could understand. Ron quickly quietened down, and when he realised just how strategic the game was, he began to focus less on the monsters, and more on the gameplay.

However the games were by no means peaceful. Since Dean and Seamus's appearance, more and more people, particularly those from muggle families, had been finding excuses to walk past the door to catch a glimpse of the duellists. Pretty soon hordes of girls were lingering outside the compartment door, to which the three duellists had groaned aloud. They had rather been hoping to leave fangirls behind after they left Domino.

To everyone's surprise, it had been Hermione who had finally snapped and marched outside, threatening to hex them all if they did not leave them alone. When faced with the shocked expressions of everyone else in the compartment, she had muttered something about 'disturbing her peace' and had promptly buried her nose back into her textbook.

Just as their sixth game ended (making the score two matches to Malik and four to Bakura), the compartment door slid open again. Fearing the worst (i.e. the return of the fangirls), Bakura and Malik had turned to snarl at the intruders, while Yugi had shrunk in his seat. Harry, Ron and Hermione however had all tensed up. The newcomer was definitely no fangirl.

"So these are the three transfers that everyone's been talking about huh?" Draco Malfoy asked, sneering at the three duellists as he spoke.

/_Yami I really don't like this guy_/ Yugi said bluntly.

//_Neither do I_// the Pharaoh agreed. //_And from the looks on the Tomb Robbers face, I'm going to say that he doesn't either_.//

"Wouldn't be a trip on the Hogwarts Express without Malfoy showing his face," Harry muttered to himself, rubbing his temples. Hermione lowered her book and gave Malfoy her most neutral face.

"Can we help you with something Malfoy?" she asked politely. Malfoy scowled at her.

"I don't need to explain my reasons to you Granger," he snarled. "I came to see if the transfers were as amazing as everyone is saying they are. But clearly if they're hanging around you then they're not worth much."

"Oi!" Malik snapped. "I dunno if it's escaped your notice, whoever you are, but we're sitting right here!"

"That supposed to intimidate me?" Malfoy smirked. "You should know better. I'm Draco Malfoy. And you would do well to watch yourself around me."

"Really?" Malik said, getting to his feet. "Well I'm Malik Ishtar, and I don't like being insulted. So why don't you and your gorillas do us all a favour and get the hell out of our sight."

Behind him, Bakura smirked and fingered the Millennium Ring fondly. He half hoped Malik would lose his cool with this idiot. Then he would have an excuse to blast the guy half way to the Shadow Realm.

/_Since when do you need an excuse_?/ Ryou asked, having just woke up in his soul room. Bakura ignored his host, and Ryou sighed.

/_Just make sure that Bastet is out of the way before you do anything rash_/ he begged. Again, Bakura did not respond, but a glance at the little kitten told Ryou all he needed to know.

Malfoy meanwhile, was sizing Malik up. The Egyptian had got to his feet and was glaring at him. His eyes were a little bit creepy, but what Malfoy had noticed more than anything was that Malik was a few inches taller than he was.

"Malik," Yugi warned timidly. "Don't start fighting before we've even got there. You'll get into trouble…"

"Yeah Malik," Malfoy taunted. "Listen to your spiky haired friend who couldn't tell the difference between shampoo and a bucket of paint."

"What did you just say?!" Yami burst out, jumping to his feet besides Malik, who jumped in alarm at the Pharaoh's volume.

"Ra you're loud Pharaoh!" he said in Egyptian.

"Woo! Fight!" Bakura cheered, getting to his feet to join in. Malfoy was slightly taken aback. Sure Crabbe and Goyle were bigger than any of them, but there was a glint to the Egyptian and the white haired boy's eyes that told the blond boy that he did not want to anger them. And as for the spiky haired guy… he had a presence that made the wizard rethink his current position. Not to mention there was something about his eyes that was creeping him out.

On the seats, Harry was alarmed to see their new acquaintances looking so murderous. Sure he'd already established Malik was a little weird, and Ryou had moments when he seemed to come out of his shell. But like Malfoy what had really captured Harry's eyes were the fact that Yugi and Ryou's eyes seemed to have gone red. Indeed Yugi's were the colour of freshly drawn blood. The same, Harry realised with a shudder, as Voldemort's.

Malik had apparently got tired of waiting for a reply, and so had kicked Malfoy in the stomach, sending the other boy flying backwards into his body guards. A subtle blast from the Millennium Ring later, and all three of them had landed on their backsides in the corridor. Hermione quickly slid the door shut and locked it with her wand.

"Good riddance!" she muttered before going back to her book.

"Hate him," Ron muttered, before perking up. "But you Malik are my new best friend! Where did you learn to kick like that?"

Malik shrugged. He wasn't going to tell the redhead that heading an underground group of thieves had taught him plenty, including how to move people by force. Hanging around with Bakura probably had something to do with it too.

"We're going to be there in about half an hour," Harry said. "We had better get changed."

Hermione took her robes and left the compartment to allow the boys some privacy. Bakura and Yami retreated to their items. It was only when Yugi was slipping on his shirt, and Ryou was fiddling with the buttons on his own, that Harry bought up something that had been bugging him through out the whole train journey.

"Yugi, what's that pendant you wear around your neck?"

Ryou's fingers slipped on his shirt, and Yugi froze with his own still open.

"It's called the Millennium Puzzle," the shorter duellist said.

"It looked Egyptian," Ron remarked. "I remember Bill telling me about some of the stuff he had seen out there. Isn't that the Eye of Horus on the front?"

Yugi nodded, exchanging a worried glance with Ryou. Harry did not miss this, and turned in time to see the Millennium Ring sitting comfortably on the white haired boy's chest.

"Ryou, you've got one too," he remarked. Ryou gulped.

"Yes…this is the Millennium Ring."

He buttoned it up under his shirt, hoping that none of them had spotted the five white scars on his chest from where the Ring had embedded itself into his skin the year previously. Fortunately, a distraction appeared in the shape of Malik.

"Damn it…damn it…Horus and Ra damn it!"

"Lost something?!" Yugi asked.

"Yes, my shirt!" Malik said, rummaging around in his trunk, throwing random things over his shoulder. Yugi was almost concussed by his duel disk, and Harry had one of Malik's lavender shirts thrown over his head.

"Aha!" the Egyptian cheered suddenly, pulling out the offending clothing. "Victory!"

Grinning with success, he pulled his jacket and shirt off without thinking. Harry and Ron gasped.

"Malik what happened to your back?!" Harry asked horrified. The Egyptian froze and mentally smacked himself. How the hell could he have been so stupid as to forget his scars? He turned around so that his back was facing the wall.

"Nothing," he said firmly, pulling his shirt on.

"That didn't look like nothing!" Ron said. "It looked like someone took a knife to you!"

Malik pointedly focused on buttoning his shirt up, with a look on his face that said quite clearly that he did not want to talk about it. At this point, Bakura took over, having lost patience with the endless questions.

"Ron do you know what the definition of the word 'tact' is?" he asked pointedly.

"Yes," Ron said. Bakura raised an eyebrow and Ron's eyes slowly widened in realisation.

"Oooh right…sorry."

"So you should be," Bakura snapped, before turning to Malik.

"Idiot! Think before you strip publicly next time!" he said angrily in Egyptian. Malik glared, but said nothing. He really did not want to fight with Bakura. Enough questions had been asked today already. The Tomb Robber looked away, before smirking evilly at Yugi.

"Cold in here Yugi?" he asked, looking pointedly at Yugi's still bare chest. The shorter squeaked in embarrassment before hastily doing up the buttons. Malik's lips twitched in a slight smile.

"It is cold in here," Ron agreed, pulling his robes on over his head. "What's the deal? I know its raining out there, but you think they could at least turn the heating up."

At this point there was a knock at the door, which opened a second later to reveal Hermione. As she slid the door shut behind her, a pleasant female voice rang out in their compartment.

"We shall be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on board as it will be taken to the school separately."

"We're almost there then," Yugi said, glancing out of the window, hoping for a sight of what would be their home for the next year. His breath misted against the glass.

"Bit cold isn't it?" Hermione asked, rubbing her hands together.

"Can't wait to get to the feast," Ron said. "I'm starving."

Malik grunted in what might have been agreement, but no one bothered to enquire further. He had gone back to being closed off, and was still kicking himself inside for letting the others see his back.

Everyone was jolted out of the awkward silence as there was a clang from outside and the train came to a sudden stop. The lights in the carriage went off and everyone was plunged into darkness.

"What the hell?" Malik voiced. Ryou, who had been let back in control after Hermione had rejoined them, shivered and cuddled Bastet. The cat was mewling and shivering in fear, something which Ryou took note of now.

"What's wrong Bastet? Can you sense something?"

"What's going on?" Yugi asked.

//_Aibou_// Yami said urgently. //_There's something dark out there. I can sense it_//

"No idea," Harry said. "This has only happened once before and then it was because…oh Merlin…"

"What is it?" Yugi asked urgently. Ryou looked up from the kitten on his lap.

"This feels wrong," he declared, repressing a shiver as his breath came out as mist.

//_Hikari. Soul room. Now_// Bakura said firmly, and for once, Ryou did not object. Bakura moved Bastet into her basket and secured the lid. The poor creature curled up into her blanket and hid out of sight. From the corridor, they could hear shouts of panic and the occasional whimper…along with a hoarse rattling breath that drew slowly closer and closer to their compartment.

The door was pulled open revealing everyone's worst nightmare.

* * *

**A/N: **I STILL HAVE NO INTERNET:growls: The guy who was going to install our landline never showed up, and isn't going to until the 2nd aparently. Which means no telephone and no internet except if I trudge up to the campus and use the universities system (hence the update now). 

Three of my favourite characters shirtless! Drooling? Me? Noooooooo…

And Taiyo is Japanese for sun if you were wondering. I promised myself when I wrote this fic that I would steer clear of slipping Japanese terms in unless I absolutely have to, because I find it irritating in a fanfiction where I have to scroll down to the bottom to get the translation.

Ugh! I had horrible writers block when I wrote this. I know that the Dementors on a train plot is totally cliche, but you'll be pleased to know I'm not doing it just for the hell of it.

Oh and for anyone who is interested, after months of being bullied by my friends I finally gave into peer pressure and got facebook. Still not entirely sure what I'm going to use it for though. Probably to blog.

Next update should be in two weeks-ish. Whenever I really feel like it.


	6. Chapter 6: The Demons of their Past

**Disclaimer: **This is me, still not owning anything.

**Warning: **Mild horror. Mostly involves Bakura and a knife, and Malik's father and another knife. It's not too gory, but if you think its going to upset you then skip the second and third flashbacks.

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Demons of their Past**

Hermione stifled a scream. Ron's eyes went wide with fear. Harry pulled out his wand, sweat already beading on his forehead, screams and shouts already echoing in his mind.

"Think of something happy!" he ordered everyone, as not one, but two Dementors merely observed the compartments occupants. Their hooded faces slid from Harry, Hermione and Ron…before resting on the transfers.

Yugi was trembling, too paralysed to hear his other half's panicked questions. Malik was gripping the Millennium Rod in one hand and the back of the seat in the other. Even Bakura was finding it hard not to be afraid. The only thing radiating off these creatures was misery and pain.

The two swept into the compartment, their presence drawing what felt like the rest of the air from the room. Harry raised his wand and shouted; "_Expecto Patronum!"_

To his dismay only thin wisps of smoke appeared. He cursed his lack of practise over the summer and sought desperately for a happy memory. But all he could see when he searched his mind was Sirius…Sirius duelling with Bellatrix…Sirius falling through the veil…he could not concentrate. He had not cast a patronus since the OWL examination the previous June…since before Sirius had died…

On the other side of the compartment, Yugi doubled over on his seat and tears began streaming from his face. The Millennium Ring began to glow with energy as Bakura prepared to banish the nearest Dementor to the Shadow Realm, but before he could, a scream from within his mind distracted him.

//_Hikari? What the hell is wrong with you_?!//

/_No…please Bakura! Don't…/_

//_Don't what?! These things are evil and we have to get rid of them! Even Harry's trying to do something_!//

/_No don't! Don't hurt my friends_!/

//…_What_?//

/_…don't! Please, Yugi, everyone! Get away! He's going to trap you all in Monster World_!/

Now Bakura was very confused, but he did not have time to enquire. The nearest Dementor had approached him, its putrid breath washing over him. The Tomb Robber felt bile rise in his throat and he felt the world swim. Screams were reverberating in his head, and as he fought to gain control of himself, he could see Malik on the seat, clutching his head in what looked like pain.

//_Aibou! What's going on_?!// Yami demanded, now properly frightened. For some reason he could not take control of the body. Yugi was too terrified to co-operate, and while he could take over by force, these creatures seemed to be affecting him too, making his movements weak and slow, as voices yelled in his ear like a badly tuned in radio.

Suddenly Yami's eyes snapped open with recognition. These voices were painfully familiar…

FLASHBACK

"PHARAOH! NO!"

His arm was seized and he turned to see Yugi hanging off him.

"Let go!"

"No! You don't know what you're doing!"

"Let go!"

Yugi's hold only tightened.

"Listen to me! This card is affecting your mind!"

"We're going to lose the duel! Can't you see?! Trust me! It's the only way Yugi. We must do this. Now let me go!"

He ripped his arm free. He could hear his Aibou's plea…

"Please don't play that card!"

…and he ignored it.

"Now I activate…THE SEAL OF ORICHALCOS!"

END FLASHBACK

"No! Please! Don't play it!...Yami no!"

Yugi's frightened whimpers were barely noticed by anyone. Harry was trying in desperation to cast another patronus, while behind him, Ron and Hermione struggled to do the same. But the Dementors seemed to have chosen their targets to be their new friends.

FLASHBACK

"Yami? What are you doing in here?"

"What am I not allowed to visit my landlord? Your soul room has got darker since I was last in here I see."

The boy swallowed, eyeing the knife in his darker half's hand nervously. The thief smirked sadistically.

"What did you need?"

"What do I need? Power. Revenge. But right now, I need you to help me. You see I have met someone who can help me to get what I want. He's willing to give me the Millennium Rod. But to do that, I need your help."

He didn't think as he shook his head forcibly. He would never help the spirit who had invaded his body and locked him away in his own mind. The thief's eyes narrowed and he leaped at the boy, pinning him against the wall of his soul room.

"You presume I'm giving you a choice in the matter landlord," he said, one hand wrapped around the boy's neck, raising him from the floor and choking him in his grasp. His right hand flipped the knife skilfully, bringing it up to the captured lights eye level. The boys brown eyes widened in terror.

"You should know," the darker hissed in his host's ear. "Never to refuse me."

And without another word, he pushed the knife into the boy's arm, relishing the feeling of the ripping skin, the tearing muscle, and the blood trickling over the knife and onto his hands. A scream ripped through the room, yet was unheard by any one else but the boy's tormentor.

END FLASHBACK

Bakura angrily shook away the memory that was coming from his hikari's side of the mind link, and tried to get back to his feet. There was screaming going on in his ears too, but it was a memory of his own that he thought he had long forgotten. The ancient cries of the people of Kul Elna were ripping through his head. Growling furiously he pushed it aside and tried to focus on the Ring. He wondered briefly why the Pharaoh had not appeared to help, but he decided he'd worry about that later. One of the robed creatures was closing in on Malik, and the Egyptian did not seem to be having a good time of it.

FLASHBACK

"No! Please! I don't want this!"

He was backhanded against the stone table.

"Do not try to escape it Malik! This is your destiny and your duty as a Tomb Keeper! Now stop struggling!"

The boy just struggled more, as the man above him removed the dagger from the candle flame, the end red hot and perfectly sterilised.

"No, please father! Don't do this!"

"Stop your whining! It's pitiful!"

Another harsh slap around the head, and a wad of cloth was forced into his mouth muffling his begging. Then pain, agonisingly sharp and hot as the knife dug into his skin, drawing blood and ripping flesh apart. Tears tracked down his face and his throat stung from screaming pleas which were muffled by the gag…he prayed instead.

"Help me someone! Please!"

Darkness settling in…but this time no one answered. The pain continued.

"Help me! MARIK!"

END FLASHBACK

"Expecto Patronum!"

Light ripped through the compartment and the Dementors screamed as they were temporarily blinded. Harry's patronus, a huge silver stag, charged their attackers. The first one crashed through the window and flew away into the stormy night. The second fled, charging down the corridor. To Harry's surprised, numerous flashes appeared and the Dementor was charged by several angry patronuses. Luna, Neville, Ginny, Dean and Seamus appeared in the doorway, their wands drawn and their faces pale, but otherwise looking very pleased with themselves.

"Are you all okay?" Ginny asked urgently, helping her brother onto his seat. Neville and Luna helped Hermione upright, and Dean and Seamus began helping the transfers. Harry couldn't help but smile at his fellow DA members.

"Those Patronuses were great. You guys should be proud!"

"Are you three okay?" Hermione asked, worried about how badly the transfers seemed to have taken the attack. Yugi was trembling and drenched in a cold sweat. Bakura had pulled himself back into his seat looking as though he were about to be violently sick. Malik was hugging himself and looking utterly horrified.

"We're fine," Bakura said. "But what in Ra's name was that thing?"

"It was a Dementor," Harry explained, as Dean and Neville began pulling chocolate frogs from their pockets and handing them out to everyone. Yugi's eyes widened.

"I remember those things," he said suddenly. "Dumbledore told us about them when he visited us all. They suck all the happiness out of you don't they?"

Harry nodded, biting the head off his chocolate frog as he did so. Bakura gave Dean a strange look as he was handed the candy.

"Eat it," Hermione advised. "Chocolate is the best thing after a Dementor attack."

"I don't think I can eat anything right now," Yugi said vaguely. In truth he felt very ill. He sighed, checked that no one was watching, before he retreated to his soul room. Everything within the room seemed more haphazardly placed and shaken up in light of what had just happened. An anxious looking Yami stood on the other side of the door.

"It's over," he told his darker half, before he was swept into a hug. He was shocked to find that the Pharaoh was shaking just as badly as he was.

"I'm sorry Yugi," he said. "I tried to take over but…I just couldn't move. The memory was so…"

"I know Other Me," Yugi assured. "It's okay, the Dementor is gone now."

"Did you…" Yami trailed off unsure how to word his question. It didn't matter though, Yugi understood.

"Yes. I saw the memory too." Yami sighed and looked ashamed.

"Aibou I'm so sorry you had to go through that again…"

"It's fine," Yugi said firmly. "It was only a memory. Nothing more. But we'd better see if we can find out how to defend ourselves against Dementors. Harry could teach us."

"Good idea," Yami agreed. He took a close look at his partner. He was still pale, but at least he had stopped shaking. "Do you want me to take over Aibou? You don't look well."

Yugi shook his head.

"I'm fine Yami. Besides we're almost at Hogwarts and we can tell someone what happened. I'm just sorry we put Harry and everyone else in danger."

"Yes they did seem rather focused on us, to say the least," Yami remarked. "Maybe you're right. We should definitely find out how to fight those creatures."

Across the compartment, Bakura was adopting the same spaced out look, and was currently striding across the corridor and pushing open the door to Ryou's soul room. He didn't bother knocking, it was a waste of time in his opinion. Whilst Ryou had more control over the body than he had in previous months, he could no sooner throw Bakura out of his soul room than the Pharaoh could lose a fair game.

Ryou was curled up in a dark corner of his room. Bakura had never understood how someone as pure and innocent as his hikari could have such a complex soul room. One half of it had white walls and was well lit. Toys, particularly those that made up parts of Monster World, were scattered about the floor, and the pictures on the wall featured his friends and his father. The other half of his room was dark and shadowy, the contents of which were indistinguishable in the gloom. The pictures on the wall however stood out starkly by comparison. They featured Bakura, his mother and sister, and all his friends who had been sealed away in Monster World.

It was in the darker half that Ryou now hid. It was hard to find him in the darkness, but his white hair stood out even in the shadow. Bakura made his way over to the corner. Many a time had he ventured into his hikari's soul room only to find the boy crying like this. But this time was different. He knelt down in front of his light.

"Ryou. It's gone," he said firmly. "The Dementor is gone. It's all over."

He knew what memories his light had witnessed, and he knew that he had been the primary instigator behind most of them. Any other time before this he would have taken pride in causing his hikari so much grief. But now, well, he thought he was a bit more humane. There were times when he still wondered how he could have got stuck with someone like Ryou as the other half of his soul, but he knew why. It was because Ryou represented everything that the thief could have been had he not endured the suffering that he did when he was a child.

Bakura shuddered. The memories of Kul Elna were not pleasant ones, and he had relived most of them when the Dementors had appeared. The only reason he had not caved into them was because he had had five thousand years trapped in that accursed Ring to brood over them. Reliving them was nothing new to him. But for Ryou, most of his life had been dark or had featured suffering and loss. And instead of expressing it, it was all bottled up inside him. It was no wonder he was taking it so badly.

Ryou's head slowly lifted, revealing his tear stained face. Before Bakura could say anything else, the boy squeaked and threw his arms around his other half's middle. Bakura stumbled, but managed to keep his balance. In all his years of rooming in Ryou's head, his light had never hugged him before. Up until recently he had been too terrified to go near him.

While the comfort was shared between light and dark, the only remaining transfer was completely alone by comparison. Malik chewed vaguely on his chocolate, his eyes glazed over, but unlike the others, he had no one to converse with but himself.

It wasn't the idea of reliving the Tomb Keepers initiation. Malik would never admit it to anyone, not even Ishizu and Odion, but nightmares and flashbacks of the initiation were nothing new to him. He had been having them for years, ever since that wretched day. It was the fact that this time it had felt so real. He unconsciously rubbed his back. He could still feel the knife digging into his skin, ripping his flesh apart and embedding the secret of the Pharaoh onto his body forever.

He closed his eyes. The part vexing him was that he had felt the pain at all. During the initiation Malik had been so full of fear and hatred that he had inadvertently created his yami, who had then taken the brunt of the pain during the initiation for him. Most of what Malik remembered was a dull ache. But in this flashback, with no darker half to protect him, he had felt every cut and every tear. No wonder his yami had been insane. That pain had been intense. Could he really blame Marik for being that psychotic if that was what he had had to go through?

But what really scared the Egyptian was the fact that in the midst of all that pain he had screamed for his yami. Of all the people who had protected him in his life, Ishizu, Odion, all his friends, the one he had begged for help from was his psychotic alter ego. He should hate his other half. He had killed his father, tried to kill Odion, had taken over his body and tried to kill his friends, and sent him to the Shadow Realm. He kept trying to tell himself that he hated Marik and that he was glad that he was locked away in the Shadow Realm.

But if he hated him so much, then why did he want to be protected by him so badly?

OOO

It was still tipping down with rain as the train pulled into Hogsmeade station five minutes later. All the students were noticeably pale and sickly looking in the aftermath of the Dementor attack, but none so much as Harry, Ron, Hermione and the three transfers, the latter whom all stumbled off the train still eating chocolate.

"Didn't you say there was a feast Ron?" Ryou asked. The redhead nodded in response and Ryou guiltily shoved the chocolate into his left pocket, with the Millennium Eye. Unbeknown to anyone else, Bastet was curled up in his other pocket. After the attack she had refused to leave him alone and so Ryou had resolved in the end to keep her with him, and she was now sleeping peacefully. Fortunately as she had been the runt of the littler, she was just small enough to curl up into a tiny little ball and squeeze into his robes.

Ryou only wished he could be that calm.

Now that the attack was over, all three transfers were starting to panic about being sorted into their houses again. Yugi and Ryou in particular, were especially worried. If the hat could look into your mind, what would it think of the yami's? Even worse, what if the hat told Dumbledore? They would have a lot of explaining to do if the Headmaster found out about their little secret.

//_Don't panic Aibou_// Yami said soothingly. //_If the hat does sense us we'll just ask it to keep quiet. And if it doesn't…well we can always have Archfiend of Gilfer eat it up_//

/_Yami!/_

A dark chuckle told the hikari that the yami was only joking. He rolled his eyes and followed his friends out into the rain.

"Bloody British weather…" Malik muttered. Yugi and Ryou decided not to comment. Their friend had been in an increasingly bad mood since the Dementor attack. They half hoped that he might want to talk about it, but they knew Malik well enough to know that he rarely confided in anyone, so the chance of telling them what memory he had relived was slim to none.

Most of the students on the platform were holding their arms over their heads as they disembarked, trying fruitlessly to keep dry. A lamp swung from one end of the station, and a booming voice called out over the din.

"Firs' years and transfers! This way! Firs' years and transfer students please!"

"That sounds like Hagrid," Yugi remarked. "Guess we're going with him." He turned and smiled at the three Gryffindors.

"Well guess we'll see you guys later then!" he said. Yugi and Ryou waved goodbye, while Malik just nodded and followed meekly.

"They were nice," Hermione said, as they made their way to the thestral drawn carriages. She shivered as the rain soaked through their clothes. "Oh I hope they don't drown going across the lake in this weather."

"They were cool," Ron agreed. "Weird as hell, but definitely cool. Wonder if they'll make it to Gryffindor."

Harry nodded. He had liked the transfers, and they seemed friendly. But deep in the back of his mind a strange feeling of doubt was lingering. The Dementors on the train had bypassed all the other compartments and arrived specifically at theirs. Everyone they had passed when leaving had been pretty sure that it was Harry they were after, as the Dementors were in the service of Voldemort now. But Harry wasn't stupid. He knew which people the Dementors had been focusing on in the train. They had wanted the transfer students. Why had Voldemort taken such an interest in them? Was it because they supposedly survived a Death Eater attack unharmed?

How had they survived the attack? Harry wondered. Why were they so frightened at the idea of the Sorting hat looking into their minds? What were those scars on Malik's back from? And why did they seem shy and withdrawn sometimes, and confident the next?

Everything was quiet on the boat ride across the lake, save for the continuous thundering of the rain against the lakes surface. Yugi and Ryou were stunned into silence at the sight of the castle, which looked grand and imposing even in the miserable weather. Malik had appeared impressed at first, but had gone back to staring moodily at the restless surface of the lake, lost in his own thoughts about the Dementors and his worries about the Sorting.

"Is he alright d'you think?" Yugi asked, glancing where Malik sat at the back of the boat. He meant to ask quietly, but he wound up having to shout in order for Ryou to hear him over the storm.

"I think the Dementor attack really shook him up," Ryou replied. "He'll be fine hopefully."

Yugi nodded, but he still felt worried. He felt like the whole attack with the Dementors had affected them all more than they were saying. Ryou had looked on the verge of crying when Bakura had let him back in control, which had made Yugi wonder what he had re-witnessed, but he had known better than to pry. He didn't know Malik as well as he did his other friends, so he couldn't be sure what the Egyptian had seen either. And as for his own flashback…Yugi could not help but worry that it was a premonition of things to come, especially since the Orichalcos was back and in the hands of a new enemy…

//_Aibou_// Yugi jumped. He did not realise that Yami had been listening. //_You know I would never betray you like that again. I truly regret doing it before, and I vow that I will not make the same mistake twice_//

/_I know Other Me_/ Yugi said quickly. /_I do believe you. But with all this happening…I'm just worried that we might be in over our heads. We know next to nothing about this world, and we certainly have no idea how this new enemy operates. What if we fail_…?/

//_I promise Yugi_// Yami said fiercely. //_I will never let the Orichalcos take you again. We will learn all we can about this Voldemort and we will stop him from harming any more innocent people_//

His yami's vow relaxed Yugi slightly, and by the time the boats had slid to a stop by the lakeside, he was actually feeling mildly cheerful, despite the fact that his hair was drooping in the rain. Hagrid led them up the stone steps and to the massive oak doors. Most of the first years were shivering and shooting the three transfers strange looks. Even wet, their hair did make them instantly noticeable.

The doors opened, and a stern looking witch in emerald green robes stood there. Yugi gulped and Ryou repressed a shiver. She had a no nonsense look which told them all immediately that messing around in her presence was not a smart thing to do.

"The firs' years Professor McGonagall."

"Thank you Hagrid," the woman said, curtly. Hagrid turned and headed off into what Yugi assumed was the Great Hall, being that he could hear the sounds of voices, cutlery and there was a trail of wet and muddy footprints leading there, indicating that the rest of the school had walked part of the way there.

McGonagall examined the students before her. Most of them were soaked and shivering horribly. Hagrid had narrowly missed concussing one student with his lantern as he had stomped off, and he and the surrounding students were still looking alarmed at the near miss. The transfers were standing a little way away, clearly feeling awkward at being surrounded by children five years younger than them. Some of the first years who were not busy being nervous, found their hair fascinating to stare at.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," the Professor said, catching everyone's attention immediately. "Before the start of term feast can begin, you shall all be sorted into your houses. The four houses, are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. While you are here at Hogwarts, your house will be like your family. You will share classes with your house, you will sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room."

Once again, Yugi and Ryou exchanged worried looks at the mention of the Sorting. Malik's gaze narrowed angrily at the latter part of the teacher's speech. He was silently vowing that he would send this Sorting Hat to the Shadow Realm if it even considered putting him in Slytherin. He would not be spending a year with that twit Draco Malfoy.

"If you would follow me please," McGonagall said, turning and heading in the direction that Hagrid had taken. The nervous first years, and worried transfers followed her into the Great Hall. The rest of the Hogwarts students and teachers looked around as they entered. There was a great deal of whispering and pointing at the transfers. Not only were they all top ranked duellists in the muggle world, but their hair was easily noticeable in amongst the terrified and relatively normal looking first years. Yugi and Ryou kept their heads down, hoping no one would see that they were uncomfortable with all the attention. Malik just glared at all who dared stare, and they quickly averted their eyes.

Yugi saw several first years up ahead examining the ceiling in interest and he rose his own head to look. He barely repressed his gasp of astonishment.

/_Amazing_!/ he said to his darker half.

//_Impressive_// Yami agreed. The purply black clouds stared back, billowing in an invisible wind, and showering the hall in rain, which didn't seem to touch anything.

"Ryou," Yugi nudged his friend and nodded up at the phenomenon. The albino's jaw dropped.

"Wow," he muttered. Yugi could not help but grin at his friend's statement.

The attention of the first years had now been caught by something at the front of the hall. Ryou and Malik, being taller than the rest of the students, could easily see over their heads at what they were looking at, which left poor Yugi to just stand there beside them and pout.

"It looks like the Sorting Hat," Ryou whispered in explanation. No sooner had he said it when the hat began to sing.

"Cheery little number isn't it?" Malik asked sarcastically. Yugi nodded as the hat finished. There was a scattered and slightly stunned round of applause from the hall at the dark and morbid song. Out of the corner of his eye, Yugi could see Harry, Ron and Hermione at one of the tables exchanging dark looks. Yugi smiled at them and they waved back.

On his other side, Yugi could see Malik glaring at Draco Malfoy, who was in pride of place at the Slytherin table. The two blondes were engaged in a heated staring contest which had caught the attention of some of the surrounding Slytherins. Yugi nudged Malik and shook his head. The Tomb Keeper rolled his eyes and just glared at the floor instead.

/_I hope he doesn't do anything stupid_/ Yugi thought desperately.

//_Agreed//_ Yami said. //_I should probably have a word with Bakura too about using Shadow Magic while we're here//_

Yugi nodded before turning to observe the Sorting Ceremony. They were already well into the H's now and the crowd of first years in front of them had shrunk by almost half.

Next to Yugi, Ryou was scanning the hall and cringing as he saw some of the occupants still whispering at them. He groaned internally has he spotted a small cluster of giggling Hufflepuff girls at one end of the table.

/_Yami I have bad news/ _he said solemnly.

//_The Pharaoh's remembered his past?// _the Tomb Robber asked dully.

/_Worse/ _Ryou said.

//_Malik's ass of a yami has returned?//_

_/Worse/_

_//What could possibly be worse?// _Bakura spluttered.

/_This hall is full of rabid looking fangirls/ _Ryou said sadly. There was a long silence from the other. And then…

//_Damn that _is_ worse!//_

One of the girls caught Ryou's eye and waved sweetly. He gave a nervous smile back which caused the girl to blush and giggle. There was a growl and the sound of something breaking from his other half's soul room.

//_Damn it Ryou! You're supposed to scowl at the desperate whores, not smile at them! I told you you were too damn nice for your own good!//_

Ryou ignored his yami's ramblings and focused instead on the end of the Sorting. He, Yugi and Malik were the only ones left. McGonagall shifted her roll of parchment so she could read the bottom.

"Transfer students," she announced briefly. "Bakura, Ryou."

Malik gave Ryou a pat on the back and Yugi smiled at him encouragingly. Ryou kept his head down and looked at his feet as he walked. He knew every eye in the hall was on him as the hat dropped onto his head, though unlike the first years it did not cover his eyes.

"Oh my!" an unfamiliar voice in his head mused. "This is an overcrowded mind!"

Ryou nearly fell off the stool in shock. His yami came to life instantly.

//_What in the name of the Gods is that?!// _he demanded angrily.

Ryou swallowed nervously.

/_I think it's the Sorting Hat Yami/ _he said.

"Correct indeed," the hat said smartly. "I must say this is the strangest thing I have ever seen in my thousand years of existence. Never have I had two minds in the same body before…"

//_Just get on with it!// _Bakura ordered. //_Make sure you sort my host and not me. He's the one learning. I'm just here for the ride. Oh and tell anyone about me and I shall feed you to my Man Eater Bug!//_

The Sorting Hat had no idea what a Man Eater Bug was, nor particularly did it wish to find out.

"Okay okay. Whatever you wish. Now let's see…well you're rather withdrawn aren't you? Very loyal though. I see you've willingly sacrificed yourself for your friends before. That bravery is extremely commendable."

Ryou blushed.

"Intelligent," the hat continued. "Great aptitude for magic. You and your tenant could fit happily in any of the four houses…"

//_This has to be the longest internal monologue in history!//_ Bakura grumbled. //_Sometime this Millennium would be lovely//_

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat was removed and Ryou hurried to the cheering table. He made a beeline for Harry, Ron and Hermione and sank into the seat next to them, grateful that he was finally out of the spotlight.

"Ishtar, Malik!"

Malik stomped moodily up to the stool and jammed the hat onto his head. The incessant mutterings of the girls in the hall was getting on his last nerve.

"Hmm now you're an interesting one aren't you?" the hat mused. Much like Ryou had, Malik jumped. His first horrible thought was that his yami had returned. Then he shook himself. He needed to get a grip. Marik was gone and he was not coming back. The voice in his head was nothing more than the Sorting Hat.

"Very dark character aren't you?" the hat observed. "Yet you seem to fear that darkness too. Cunning hey? You prefer the path of solitude, but I sense that friendship has lit your life recently and changed these opinions…"

"Are you a hat or a counsellor?" Malik asked rudely.

"Hmm…with an attitude like that, I'm thinking that you might make a good Sly…"

"If you even think of putting me in the same house as that great twit Malfoy I shall shove you through a shredder!" Malik snapped before mellowing out slightly. Threatening the hat was probably not a good idea.

"Look, I know what kind of person I used to be. And I know that I probably should have been in the house with the bad rep. But I'm not that person any more."

Mentally, Malik hoped that his words were true. He thought back to the train. It was true that he was different now…but he felt weaker now. Why else would he beg for protection from the psycho who made his life hell?

The hat of course, heard everything.

"You have a lot of self doubt," it said. Malik jumped again, not realising that his internal battle had been spotted. "I think this would be best for you. GRYFFINDOR!"

Malik sagged in relief. Not only had he avoided Slytherin, but he would be with at least one of his friends. Ryou was also looking cheered as the Egyptian sat down next to him.

"Mutou, Yugi!"

Yugi hurried forward, taking great care not to trip on the end of his extra long robes. He kept his head down to avoid the whispers and stares, most of which centred on his hair, height and duelling status. He had a difficult time getting the hat onto his head, the end result being that his spiky hair was squished uncomfortably under the possessed headwear.

"Ow!" the hat complained. "This is the most uncomfortable hair I've ever sat on. And I lived through the fifties and sixties!"

//_Aibou I think he just insulted you// _Yami said.

/_Well then he insulted you too/ _Yugi pointed out.

"Another shared mind?!" the hat said, exasperated. "Honestly! I'm not getting paid nearly enough for this!"

/_You get paid?/ _Yugi asked curiously.

"Never mind that," the hat replied. "Let's sort you. You're both similar, but who should I focus on?"

//_Focus on Yugi_// Yami ordered. //_He's the one who will be learning, and he's the one who was invited//_

"As you wish," the hat replied. "Well, the little one is brave. Perhaps foolishly so. Willing to leap into things headfirst and think of the consequences later. Especially where a friend is concerned."

/_Are you sure you're sorting the right mind?/_ Yugi asked.

//_No Aibou// _Yami chuckled. //_He's telling the truth. I've always said you have the heart of a Pharaoh. Your courage and loyalty are what set you apart from others//_

"Very well said," the hat agreed. "I should go into retirement early and give you my job."

//_Erm…can I think about it?//_ Yami asked politely, not wanting to tell the hat that he would never abandon Yugi. His partner stifled his giggles.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Yugi jumped off the stool and hurried to the table, which was screaming its joy at having the three transfers. Yugi sat down with his friends. Ryou was beaming and Malik just grunted, but the barest hint of a smile was there too.

Dumbledore rose to his feet, his presence silencing the hall. His twinkling eyes swept quickly over the transfers before addressing all those present.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Let the feast commence!"

The plates before them filled with food and the transfer's jaws dropped. Harry, Ron and Hermione grinned at their astonishment.

"Better get used to it," Ron advised, helping himself to roast chicken. Yugi exchanged a grin with Ryou.

"Itadakimasu!" he beamed. Ryou chuckled before stealing the roast potatoes before Malik could get his hands on them.

"Ryou is there anything I should stay away from?" Yugi asked, realising that he did not know what some of the dishes were. British cuisine differed in many ways from what he was used to eating in Japan.

"Anything with kidneys and liver I would not recommend," Ryou said, taking a sip of his drink. "Malik! That's meat!" he warned the vegetarian, who dropped the platter instantly before picking up the rice instead. He dolled some onto his plate and began to eat viciously.

"You have worse manners than my yami," Ryou told him in Japanese. Malik glared at him.

//_Hey!_// Bakura snapped. //_How dare you compare my manners to Ishtar's!_//

Ryou rolled his eyes and Yugi stifled a giggle. There was a time when Ryou would never have had the courage to say anything negative about Bakura. But ever since the insane thief had returned from the Shadow Realm after Battle City he had been slightly more docile. He still loved blood and never lost the opportunity to send people screaming into the Shadow Realm, but Yami and Yugi could at least hang around Ryou and not fear that the thief would steal their souls and the Puzzle. And the best part was that for the first time, Ryou had a say in what the spirit did, and that in turn had given him more confidence.

"What did you say?" Harry asked. Yugi and Ryou blushed.

"Sorry! How rude of us. It's just so easy to slip back into Japanese sometimes," Yugi explained.

"You must have had good English teachers," Hermione remarked. "Your English is brilliant."

"Well Ryou is British," Yugi explained. "But Malik and I are using language patches."

He pushed up the sleeve of his robes to show the small magical patch. Hermione examined it in interest.

"So can you speak anything else?" Ron asked. Ryou shook his head.

"No, just English and Japanese," he said.

"Same," Yugi agreed. "Japanese and now English."

//_And Egyptian. And Babylonian. And Hebrew_// Yami added mentally.

/_That's you Yami not me_/ Yugi pointed out.

//_Yes but they don't know that_// Yami said.

Malik it seemed had the same train of thought.

"They're going to find out that you speak Egyptian eventually," he said in the specified language. "Unless the Pharaoh and the Thief think they can go a year without insulting each other."

Bakura and Yami took over instantly.

"Hell no!" Bakura spat. Yami scowled at him.

"Behave yourself Tomb Robber," he said. Bakura just looked at him dirtily before spotting the plates of steak. A wolfish gleam entered his eyes.

/_Oh no you don't!/_ Ryou said in alarm, shoving his yami back into his soul room. The thief howled loudly and began throwing things around in a temper.

"Did you just shove him out of control?" Yami asked in surprise. He had no idea that Ryou could do that. Bakura had completely taken over before and Ryou had not been able to do a thing about it. Ryou just nodded briefly before focusing on his sausages. He had discovered not too long after Bakura's return that he could take control again at will. He did not know if this was because he had got stronger or whether his darker had weakened in the Shadow Realm, but for whatever reason, it made him feel a lot safer.

"So what are the classes like here?" Ryou asked.

This conversation took them through until dessert. By this point the surrounding people on the table were growing curious about the new students and questions about Duel Monsters began flowing.

"So Malik is the fifth best in the world," Harry was reciting. "Ryou is the fourth. And Yugi is the first?" The transfers all nodded in confirmation. The surrounding students were watching with something akin to awe.

"Guess you aren't the only famous person here any more mate," Ron said grinning. "Looks like these three already have fanclubs."

At the sound of the dreaded f-word, the three transfers all gulped and hid under the tables.

"Yes but they aren't famous for something they didn't want to happen," Harry pointed out. "They became famous knowing what they were getting themselves into."

"Hey it's not like I wanted to become the King of Games," Yugi defended, his head reappearing from under the table. "I wouldn't have beat Kaiba if he hadn't kidnapped my Grandpa and challenged us to Death T. And I wouldn't have beat Pegasus if he hadn't gone and stolen Grandpa's soul in order to get my…"

He was silenced as Malik and Ryou (or rather, Bakura) gave him a swift kick in each shin. The poor boy doubled over in pain.

"Ow!" he said weakly. Ryou pulled him up apologetically.

"Sorry Yugi," he said in Japanese. Yugi shook his head.

"It's alright. I wasn't thinking. Just poke me next time okay?"

Everyone on the table exchanged looks. Hermione in particular looked very puzzled by the latter part of Yugi's statement, and made a mental note to visit the library later to look for any information on soul stealing.

"So we've got three of the top five," Dean Thomas grinned eagerly. "Any chance we could get

Joey Wheeler or Seto Kaiba too?"

Malik's pumpkin juice came spraying from his nose as he began to laugh hysterically. Even Yugi and Ryou had to grin.

"Kaiba was offered a place," Yugi said, "But he turned it down. And Joey doesn't have magic. It would have been nice if they could have come though."

"Kaiba wouldn't set foot in this place," Malik snorted. "He hates magic. If you so much as hint that he might have anything to do with it he will hate you for the rest of existence. He's blind to what is so blatantly obvious."

"He sounds charming," Hermione scoffed.

"Mark my words," Malik said. "The day Seto Kaiba sets foot in Hogwarts is the day Yugi eats his Dark Magician."

"He's not that bad," Yugi defended, although he was extremely disturbed at the very notion of eating his favourite card. "It's just how he was raised. He had to be like that to survive and protect Mokuba."

"So how do you play Duel Monsters?" Neville asked curiously. Being pureblood he had never heard of the game until that evening.

"It's a card game basically," Yugi explained, always ready to talk about his favourite subject. "But in Japan we use holographic projectors to bring everything to life. Makes the game more exciting."

The other boys were fascinated.

"Could you show us?" Dean asked. "We don't have the holographic technology here in Britain yet. It's only used in the major tournaments overseas."

Yugi shook his head.

"We did bring our Duel Disks, but we were told electronics didn't work here."

"Like hell!" Bakura said, taking control with a scoff. He folded his arms and fixed Yugi with a look. "I know you won't last a year without a decent game Yugi and neither will I. We'll find a way to make the Duel Disks work. Then we'll show these people a real match."

To the casual eye, Yugi's eyes gleamed red and an enthusiastic glint entered them.

"Eager to lose to me again Bakura?" Yami asked cockily.

"We shall see who loses this time," the thief smirked.

"Yeah when we're not freezing our asses off on a Ra damned blimp!" Malik added, with a dramatic shudder.

The puddings vanished after a while and Dumbledore clambered to his feet again.

"Before we all hasten to our beds, I have a few start of term announcements. Firstly it has reached my attention that there was a Dementor attack on the train. Those still feeling the effects should visit Madame Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing.

"Our caretaker Mr Flich, has asked me to say that there is a blanket ban on any joke items bought at the shop called Weasley's Wizard Wheezes…"

Upon hearing the name Weasley, the heads of the three transfers swung to Ron, who grinned at them.

"My twin brothers run that shop," he explained.

"Their products are such that they have to ban them here?" Malik asked, his eyes gleaming. "I want to meet these two!"

Yugi elbowed him to be quiet. He was trying to hear the rest of Dumbledore's speech.

"…new member of staff this year. Professor Slughorn is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions master…"

"What?" Harry and Ron said in unison, as Slughorn got to his feet. Yugi, Ryou and Malik looked confused at the muttering that had broken out.

"What's going on?" Yugi asked. Harry turned to them.

"We've already got a teacher for Potions…unless…oh no, it can't be…"

"Professor Snape meanwhile," Dumbledore continued loudly. "Will be taking over the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher…"

"What?!" Harry and Ron repeated even louder this time. Hermione kicked them as they were starting to draw attention to themselves. The whispering had broken out in the hall again. Yugi noticed that Harry and Ron were staring in disbelief at another teacher, who was dressed all in black, with greasy black hair and a dark expression on his pale face.

"Do you ever get the feeling you're missing something important?" Malik asked loudly, catching Hermione's attention.

"Snape's wanted to be Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for years," she explained briefly. "But Dumbledore never gave him the position because he didn't trust him enough."

"Yeah he does look like an evil git," Malik observed causally, casting a look at the teacher in question.

Dumbledore had begun speaking again, this time on the subject of Voldemort, informing the students of the new security and urging them to abide by the new rules that were in place, but Yugi, Ryou and Malik were not paying attention. They were all thinking the same thing. There were clearly many undercurrents of both loyalty and distrust going on between certain people in this castle. The Gryffindors the Slytherins. Harry and Malfoy. And apparently, the Headmaster and the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. They would have to be very careful. There was a dangerous game of power going on in this castle and it could ultimately destroy everyone if left unchecked.

"…and finally," Dumbledore rounded off, catching everyone's attention. "I would like to see the three transfer students at the end of the feast…"

Another look of alarm was exchanged between Yugi, Ryou and Malik, and for once, they ignored the curiously mutterings and stares of the rest of the student body. Had something happened already in the short time that they had been away from their family and friends?

"What does he want to see you for?" Harry asked, looking worried at the concern on all their faces.

"If we knew that we wouldn't be panicking," Malik said obviously.

"You don't think Voldemort found out who we were and attacked our home do you?" Ryou asked in Japanese.

"No," Yugi shook his head defiantly, though his voice was lacking in confidence. "Dumbledore promised that they would be protected. And even if something had happened, Kaiba is watching everyone and he has the best security accessible."

By now Dumbledore had dismissed the rest of the students, who were getting up and stumbling sleepily off in the direction of their dormitories. Ron and Hermione got up to help shepherd the first years.

"C'mon then," Malik grumbled. "Better get this over with."

The grim speech and foreboding and the fact that there was no food left, was making the Egyptian irritable again. Yugi and Ryou knew better than to provoke him, so they followed him quietly up to the High Table.

The Headmaster was speaking to the tall dark haired man who had been identified earlier in the speech as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. The man sneered at the three as they approached. Malik glared back, not in the mood to be crossed at the moment.

//_Aibou be careful_// Yami warned. //_That man has a darkness about him//_

/_I know/_ Yugi replied. /_I can feel it too_/

"Thank you Severus," Dumbledore said, the tone of his voice indicating that the conversation was now firmly closed. The man nodded before sweeping out of the hall.

"Creepy much?" Malik asked in Arabic. Yugi had a hunch that Dumbledore understood what had just been said, but was choosing not to comment. Instead he just smiled at the three of them.

"Good evening to you all. I shall not keep you for long…"

"What's going on Professor?" Malik asked bluntly, already sick of the pleasantries. "Has Voldemort found our families?"

"Calm yourself Mr Ishtar," Dumbledore said, holding up a hand to stop the flow of questions. "Voldemort does not have your families." He checked first to ensure that they were alone before continuing. All the students had left and most of the teachers had retired too.

"The matter upon which I wish to speak to you about concerns the Dementors on the train," the Headmaster continued. "It seems that late last night, one of the board of Governors was attacked upon leaving the Ministry last night. He was interrogated until he revealed that the three of you were the ones who stopped the massacre in Domino Park."

Malik swore in a strange mixture of Arabic and Egyptian. Ryou hastily clamped a hand over his friend's mouth, a horrified look on his own face.

"Is he okay?" he asked, remembering how Mokuba had screamed under one of the Death Eaters spells.

"Fortunately yes," Dumbledore said. "He and the Death Eater were discovered by another employee of the Ministry, who managed to protect him long enough for the aurors to get there. It seems that the Death Eaters do not know your families nor your reputations. They did however learn that you would be attending Hogwarts and that is why the Dementors attacked the train."

"Voldemort is trying to frighten us," Ryou summarised. Dumbledore nodded.

"Indeed. It seems your magic and your knowledge of the Orichalcos has caught his attention, not in the least because one of his most loyal servants Bellatrix Lestranges is now a soulless shell in St Mungos Hospital because of it."

"But they don't know about our families?" Yugi asked again.

"As of yet, no," the Headmaster shook his head. The three looked relieved.

"However," Dumbledore cautioned. "I cannot deny that there may come a time when they are unsafe. Because of this I have enlisted the help of a few people from the Order of the Phoenix to guard your families and homes. The Japanese Ministry of Magic are also watching them, as any Death Eater activity on their soil is a cause for concern."

"And what about the Orichalcum in Knockturn Ally yesterday?" Ryou asked, remembering the hasty letter they had sent to the headmaster the previous evening.

"Yes I got your letter," the headmaster said, his eyes twinkling in amusement. "I will not ask how you got down Knockturn Ally in the first place, I shall only advise you not to go there again, as it is not the friendliest of places. As for the Orichalcum, I alerted the Ministry as soon as the letter arrived. Borgin and Burkes was searched this afternoon, and I am still waiting for the reply. If the Orichalcum is still on the premises, it will be confiscated."

"You've told them not to touch it if they can help it though right?" Yugi asked urgently. Dumbledore nodded.

"I did heed your warnings," Dumbledore assured him. "And when I informed the Ministry of Voldemort's new weapon last week I gave them instructions on how to handle it too."

"And now I think the best advice I can give you three is to get some rest. It is late and I think sleep would be wise, especially after the Dementor attack this evening."

As if in confirmation of this, Yugi stifled a yawn. He muttered a sheepish apology, but Dumbledore merely smiled.

"Unless my instincts are faulty, Mr Potter is waiting for the three of you outside the hall. My advice would be to stick close to him and Mr Weasley and Miss Granger. They can help you find your way around the school."

Malik, who was quite keen to go now that he knew his family were safe, uttered a vague 'goodnight' before heading off towards the door. Yugi bowed to the Headmaster before following his friend. Ryou however had one more question, or rather, his yami did.

"Professor, Harry told us about what happened to him and how Voldemort tried to kill him," he explained, making sure to keep Ryou's voice so as not to raise suspicion. "Is that why you want us to hang around with him? Is he still in danger?"

Dumbledore surveyed the sharp eyed youth before him.

"Very astute Mr Bakura," he admitted. "I must confess I fear for Harry's safety. However what he needs most in the world right now is friends beside him. I believe that the three of you know better than most how valuable friendship is."

And without another word, he turned and headed for the side door of the hall, leaving Bakura with nothing to do but retreat to his soul room and think.

OOO

"Wax Crayons!" Harry announced. The Fat Lady nodded and swung open to reveal the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Wax Crayons?" Malik asked sceptically. Harry shrugged.

"Hey, you'd never hear someone like Draco Malfoy say it willingly," he pointed out. Everyone had to agree with that.

The warmth of the Gryffindor Common room made everyone feel safe and strangely at home, especially with the torrential rain still gushing down outside. The sofas and armchairs were mostly deserted, everybody having already headed for bed. Harry led them up one of the spiral staircases and into the boys' dormitory. It appeared to have expanded in size with the need for the three additional beds. Dean and Seamus had already fallen asleep. Neville was rummaging around in his trunk for his pyjamas and Ron was in the process of pulling off his shirt. They both looked up grinning when they saw the four enter the room.

"Alright you lot?" Ron asked. "Everything okay with Dumbledore?"

"Everything was fine," Yugi said, heading for his own trunk in order to retrieve his own pyjamas. He heard a few snickers from Ron at the sight of the star patterned material.

"Nice PJs Yugi," the red head said. Yugi blushed and in the back of his mind he could hear Yami growling angrily. The Pharaoh was still on edge from the Dementor attack and the worry that the talk with Dumbledore had presented, and it was making him slightly cranky. Yugi muttered a quick goodnight to Ryou and Malik before pulling the curtains closed. Ron looked bewildered.

"What did I say?" he asked. "It was only a joke." Malik gave him a disgusted look, remembering Ron's persistent comments on his back earlier.

"You have all the subtlety of a spitting cobra," he said, before getting into his own bed and drawing the curtains shut. Ryou did not miss the disappointed look on Harry and Ron's faces and he guessed that they had been hoping for an excuse to grill Malik on his scars again. Not wanting to socialise further, Ryou drew his own curtains and changed out of sight.

Fifteen minutes later, all the lamps had been extinguished and all the boys were sleeping peacefully. Or that was how it looked. There was a faint glow from the Millennium Ring, illuminating Ryou's alert face as he sat with his pen poised over his letter to this father. Malik was also wide awake, lying against his pillow, arms behind his head, his eyes lost in deep thought.

The Millennium Puzzle glowed into life and Yami appeared in spirit form beside the sleeping Yugi. He marched over to Ryou's bed and peered through the curtains. Ryou jumped about a foot in the air before he recognised the figure. Yami wordlessly indicated the Ring and Ryou thought for a minute before nodding. In another flash, the spectral form of Bakura appeared, arms folded and a peeved look on his face.

"This had better be important Pharaoh," he snapped, leaving Ryou behind on the bed to finish his letter.

//_Don't stay up too late hikari// _he advised before heading for the stairwell with Yami close behind him.

By the still flickering fire, the two spirits stood, both watching the other with varying degrees of mistrust.

"I don't like being summoned like a palace slave your Highness," Bakura spat, putting as much scorn into the last two words as he possibly could.

"I did not come here to argue with you Bakura," Yami said. "We will need to try and co-operate if we want to see our hikari's through this…"

"Please spare me the friendship lecture," Bakura said, rolling his eyes. "You sound like that whiny cheerleader Tea."

Yami bit back his retort with great difficulty. He counted mentally to ten before deciding to get right to the point.

"You can read people's souls with the Ring. Could you sense anything malignant from anyone in the castle?"

Bakura snorted.

"About half the Slytherins, particularly that Malfoy boy we met on the train. The Defence teacher Snape we should also keep an eye on."

"Yes I though so too," Yami agreed. "As for Malfoy, I can't deny I would love a reason to shut him away in the Shadow Realm. I believe he will be trying to cause trouble for us."

He paused as if entertaining the thought of Malfoy in the Shadows, before getting back to his point.

"But we should be careful about using Shadow Magic here too. I'm not saying we shouldn't use it at all," he interjected quickly, seeing Bakura open his mouth to protest. "I'm just saying we should not draw attention to ourselves. We don't know how these people will react to seeing two students being possessed by spirits." He fixed the Tomb Robber with a serious look. "And you know as well as I do how painful it is to be parted from your hikari."

Bakura was about to remind Yami that he had been responsible on more than one occasion for ripping his soul from Ryou, before the first part of the sentence caught up with him.

"How do you know what it feels like?" he spat. "You've never been separated from Yugi once in your entire spiritual life!"

Yami's eyes sharpened so much that Bakura could almost feel invisible knives scoring themselves into his face.

"That is what the Orichalcos does to you Bakura," he said. "It rips souls apart."

And on this note, he turned and vanished back to the Puzzle. Cursing the Pharaoh for not telling him everything, Bakura retreated to his own soul room.

In the darkness of the boy's dorm, Malik continued to lay awake, thinking about the Dementor, Voldemort, but most of all, about his yami and the weakness he felt.

In the next bed, the Ring began to glow again, and Ryou sat up in bed sensing that his yami had gone to sleep. He pulled a fresh sheet of parchment out, and began to pen another letter.

"_Dear Amane…"_

OOO

**A/N: **Aww! Who wants to hug Ryou? raises hand

Amane is Ryou's sister, a fact that we learn in volume six of the manga. And before anyone comes to grill me, I know that Ryou's mother and sister are dead. What I'm trying to indicate here is that Ryou is still writing to his sister even though she has passed away. Think of it as therapy for him (Ra knows the poor guy needs it).

About the Sorting Hat – I cannot write songs to save my life so I decided to leave it. Sorry. I was five percent away from failing my poetry module last year, so it's best if you don't ask me to write songs or poems.

OUTAKE FROM MY BETA TAI GREYWING

"Mark my words," Malik said. "The day Seto Kaiba sets foot in Hogwarts is the day Yugi eats his Dark Magician."

"He's not that bad," Yugi defended, "He's actually quite tasty really…"

Malik blinked, unable to believe what he'd just heard "…You've _tried_?!?!?" was the only thing he could get out of his mouth. Ryou was too busy quietly dying under the table to add anything intelligent to the conversation, though several loud snorts were directed at the other two.

OOO

(Giggle) had to do that! Yeah…my dear beta is insane.

Thanks once again to my two betas (huggles).

Advice to anyone who is going, or thinking about going to University or College. At some point during the month of September or October, you WILL get freshers flu. It doesn't matter if you aren't a fresher, you will still get it at least once! This is my second year of Uni and I have once again come down with it. I'm fine now, but it doesn't make for a pleasant few weeks.

Review!


	7. Chapter 7: First Day Seventeenth Birthd

**Disclaimer: **I own neither the world of Harry Potter nor the world of YuGiOh.

**Chapter 7: First day. Seventeenth Birthday**

Harry Potter was use to being awake early. After five years of schooling at Hogwarts, punctuated occasionally by his dreams being invaded by Voldemort, early starts did not surprise him. What surprised him was to find Ryou Bakura already awake and dressed at seven o clock in the morning. Everyone else was still out of it, Neville, Ron and Malik snoring loudly.

Ryou was sitting on his pillow, with his back against the headboard, Duel Monsters deck spread out in front of him, with his side deck and about fifty spare cards next to it. Bastet was prowling next to the cards, but she seemed to understand that they were not to be played with. The white haired boy appeared deep in thought as he studied the cards.

Harry finished dressing before creeping silently over to the transfer's bed. Ryou was so engrossed in his cards that he did not notice the approach of his fellow student. Harry could see his lips moving in silent thought and as he approached, he could make out a few words.

"Better swap that out…put Jowgen in instead…Multiple Destruction might be handy if we run into someone using the Seal of Orichalcos…"

"Good morning Ryou," Harry greeted. Ryou jumped before spotting Harry. He relaxed slightly.

/_Its okay Yami. I don't think he realised I was talking to you/_

//_Good_// Bakura said. //_The last thing we need is him asking questions. Malik's already got them curious with his back_//

"Good morning Harry," Ryou said politely, placing a few more cards to his left, where the rest of his deck lay. He rather liked its current state. In the centre of the group lay three separate cards, which he smiled at fondly. Harry, seeing where his attention was directed, took a close look in interest. Two of the cards were orange. One depicted a woman with blue skin, purple armour and a wooden doll. The other showed a white skinned devil like monster with a snake for a tail. The final card was green and depicted a woman clutching a heart in her hands. One side of her was angelic and bathed in light, while the other was shadowed and demonic.

"What do these three do?" Harry asked. Ryou picked up the three cards smiling.

"These three are my favourites. Those two are both monsters and this one is a spell. They're all pretty special to me…for one reason or another."

His eyes flicked over Dark Necrofear, quite possibly his most deadly monster, then Diabound Colonel, the monster that was his yami's Ka, before ending on Change of Heart, which was his personal favourite. He thought it represented himself very well and he'd always felt a special attachment to it.

He quickly counted the cards on the bed before him to ensure that he was not over the limit before critically weighing the different types to make sure that the deck was well balanced. Finally he scooped them up and shuffled them. Harry noticed the way the other boy handled them so carefully as if worried that he would damage them. It reminded him of the way he handled his Firebolt.

"So how does your deck work?" he asked curiously. "I remember Yugi saying that most duellists have a strategy. What's yours?"

At this Ryou smiled mysteriously.

"Ah now that Harry, you will just have to wait to find out," he said. "But I will tell you that my deck's general theme is the occult."

"Yeah I noticed," Harry remarked, remembering how creepy most of the monsters were. "What about Yugi and Malik? What are their decks based on?"

"Well…" Ryou mused, debating how much he should give away. Admittedly after all the tournaments they had been in, their deck strategies were not exactly a secret to the duelling community, but it was always second nature to try and keep them secret for as long as possible. He saw no harm in telling Harry a little however.

"Malik uses an Immortality deck. He likes to use burn techniques…he bypasses the monsters and attacks his opponents directly," he explained seeing Harry looking confused at the terminology. "While he does that he uses other cards to bring back his more powerful monsters from the graveyard."

It sounded complicated to Harry, but then again, he mused, it was no more complicated than a newcomer might find Quidditch. It took skill and a great deal of strategy to play the game.

"And Yugi?" he asked.

"Well Yugi…" Ryou trailed off again wondering how on Earth to define the deck of the best duellist in the world. "His strategy depends on who he is duelling. He's got loads of different monsters but he has ways of making them work together well. He likes his Magicians and his Magnet Warriors. He's also rather fond of King's, Queen's and Jack's Knight. Oh and we can't forget Kuriboh...and heaven help the person he's duelling if he uses the God Cards."

Harry was about to ask more, when Malik gave a loud grunt and rolled out of bed and onto the floor. Harry stifled a chuckle, and Ryou giggled. In his soul room, Bakura was rolling on the floor laughing.

"Are you alright Malik?" Ryou asked. A hand stuck up from behind the bed, displaying the peace sign. The commotion woke Dean, Neville and Yugi, who looked over in bewilderment.

"Is this the standard morning thing in Japan?" Dean asked.

"No just Malik," Ryou smiled. The Egyptian glared at him, pulling himself back onto his bed and reaching blearily for his language patch. His hair was a spiky mess and his eyes looked distinctly dull without the usual black outline.

"How many time zones did we fly through to get here again?" he asked.

"Twelve," Ryou replied. "Morning Yugi."

"Morning Ryou. Happy Birthday!" the King of Games grinned before throwing over a present. Ryou caught it happily.

"Thank you Yugi!" he said.

"It's your birthday?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Evidently," Malik remarked, handing over his own gift. Ryou was halfway through unpicking the selotape on his first present. The silver wrapping paper fell off to reveal a box containing a new diorama for Monster World, which Ryou could set up when he got home. Ryou beamed.

"Thanks Yugi!" he said happily. Yugi just smiled.

"We'll have another game during Christmas. I'm sure everyone would love to play!"

Ryou smiled at that, remembering a time when he had been terrified to play his favourite game for the fear of losing his friends.

"Mine next," Malik poked. Ryou unfolded the messily wrapped paper and examined the contents with interest. The first book was entitled "The Planes of Passage" a muggle fantasy book. Malik grinned toothily.

"I know you've got the first three in the series, and I thought you might like the fourth one."

Ryou thanked him before examining the second book. He doubled over laughing. The book was thick and heavy and looked magical, which led Ryou to assume that it had been bought in Diagon Ally the other day. It was entitled "Living with angry ghosts: A self help guide to reasoning with cranky spirits".

"I thought it would amuse you," Malik grinned. Yugi rolled on the bed clutching his sides.

//_I am not a cranky ghost!//_ Bakura snapped.

/_No technically you're a cranky spirit/_ Ryou corrected. There was a loud groan from the yami's soul room and a vague mutter of "kill Ishtar later".

"Thanks Malik," Ryou smiled. "I'll be sure to read it."

"One more," Yugi said, handing him a smaller, much thinner package.

"Guys you didn't have to," Ryou said.

"Just as well we didn't," Malik said. "That's from us and everyone at Domino. We all clubbed together."

Ryou gently unpicked more selotape and neatly folded it to one side. He had already guessed that the gift was Duel Monster cards. He examined them and gasped.

"Surprise!" Malik grinned.

"Guys…how on Earth did you get these?" Ryou breathed.

"Oh there was a lot of pooling money, arguing over the cards, poking Kaiba to find out where we could order them, poking the Post Office for fast delivery so they'd be here before we left…but the important thing is, we got them!" Malik ended.

Ryou honestly did not know what to say. The cards before him were "Dark Master – Zorc" and the ritual to summon him "Contract with the Dark Master". The monster was modelled after the villain of his favourite game Monster World, and indeed, had been his yami's avatar when he had turned it into a Shadow Game. Ryou mused over the card's special ability and how similar it was to Monster World. The lower you rolled the die the more damage Zorc did. If you rolled low you could destroy your enemies, and if you fumbled and rolled too high, you destroyed yourself.

Ryou had always had nothing but bad memories with this creature. Whenever he thought of Zorc he thought of the damage his yami had almost done that day and the pain he had inflicted on Ryou's previous friends. But now, the idea that his friends had given him the card made him feel better about it. Now when he looked at it he could see his friends rather than the disaster that had been caused.

"I really don't know what to say…except I may need to rearrange my deck again…"

"No problem," Malik said, already getting dressed as Ryou examined the cards. "Just use it next time you try to beat us in a duel."

Ryou seemed to smirk and his eyes took on a challenging note as Bakura took control.

"You assume I'm going to lose Malik? Have you learned nothing after the hundreds of defeats you've suffered at my hands?"

He threw a pillow at the Tomb Keeper's head, causing him to topple over backwards onto the floor again. There was a string of Arabic and Egyptian curses from behind the bed.

/_Bakura_/ came Ryou's voice.

//_Do I have to?_// Bakura moaned, guessing immediately what his hikari wanted him to do. //_You know it's not in my nature_//

/_It's my birthday. Would it kill you to do it this once?_/

//…//

/_I'll let you have control of my body this afternoon_/

//_Really_?

/_Yes but I get it back at dinner!_/

//_Deal!_//

"Seriously," Bakura grunted as Malik pulled himself up again, rubbing his sore head. "Thank you for the cards."

Malik was so surprised at those words coming from Bakura's lips that he completely forgot to be angry at him for almost concussing him.

"Who are you and what have you done with the Thief King Bakura?" he asked in Japanese. Bakura rolled his eyes.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that Ishtar," he said. "I'll be let out this afternoon just so you know, so I shall see you then."

And he vanished without another word.

"Was your yami just pleasant to us?" Yugi asked.

"It's only because it's my birthday," Ryou shrugged. "And he knows I hate fighting. Although reflecting on it, I must have been mad to promise him control this afternoon."

"Always knew you were a few cards short of a duelling deck," Malik said, and he was pelted by more pillows.

Harry and Ron meanwhile, exchanged glances.

"Definitely weird," Ron summarised.

OOO

"Mail's here," Ron announced dully.

The transfers look skyward curiously. The magical ceiling stared back at them. The storm had eased up overnight but had now returned with a vengeance. All three new students got a huge shock as the post owls came streaming in through the windows, bringing most of the storm water with them. Some were so waterlogged it was surprising that they had been able to take off from the ground in the first place.

Yugi scanned the storm of birds for Taiyo, but there was no sign of his owl anywhere. Ryou was also watching curiously and noticed his friend's anxiety.

"You only sent the letter yesterday Yugi," he reminded him. "Its going to take Taiyo a while to get to Japan and back."

"I know," Yugi said. "I'm just worried…I know," he dropped his voice before continuing. "I know Dumbledore said our families were safe, but I won't believe it until I hear it from Grandpa myself."

Ryou knew how he felt. He had the letter to his father in his school bag, and had made a mental note to find the owlery later so that he could send it. He fingered the silver identity bracelet on his wrist that had been his father's birthday gift to him. He had been forced to beat Malik with pillows again after the Egyptian had asked jokingly if this jewellery was cursed too. Though he would never admit it aloud, Ryou had wondered the same thing. The last jewellery he had received from his father was the Millennium Ring.

Hermione was half way through the morning edition of the Daily Prophet and was reading the current page with a frown on her face.

"Something wrong Hermione?" Ryou asked, leaning over her shoulder to look at the paper. He almost jumped out of his seat in shock, for the article she was reading was an information page about Voldemort's new weapon, the Orichalcos.

"…this is…" Hermione seemed lost for words. "This magic it's…unbelievable…and Voldemort has it…"

"Oh it's more than unbelievable," Ryou said as Hermione laid the paper flat so everyone could read it. "It's pure evil."

Hermione frowned at his words.

"You sound like you know that for a fact," she accused. Ryou nodded.

"Remember we said we got attacked by Death Eaters back at home," Yugi filled in. Harry, Ron and Hermione nodded.

"They used the Orichalcos against us," Yugi said. Hermione gasped and Harry and Ron looked up in awe.

"You escaped Voldemort's new weapon?" Harry asked in shock. "How?"

"Read what it says," Malik said nodding at the paper. "The Orichalcos works by taking someone's soul, specifically the loser's soul. They fought us and they lost. Therefore we survived and they lost their souls."

Harry wanted to ask more, but it was clear from the looks on the faces of the transfers that they would say no more on the subject. Thinking on this, Harry decided he really could not blame them. The idea of watching someone have their soul taken was horrible.

"Deaths?" Ron asked finally. Hermione flicked to another page and scanned the columns.

"No one we know," she said. "There was a small attack on a muggle town the other day, but the Aurors had been tipped off and were there to stop it before anyone got too badly injured. And there was a Death Eater killed yesterday in Botley. Wilbur Hudge. From what they can tell, it looks like he tried to get out. But the other Death Eaters tracked him down and murdered him. Oh and Borgin and Burkes was searched too…hey!"

Malik had ripped the paper from her grasp and was scanning the page feverishly. Yugi and Ryou immediately crowded around to read.

"Please say they found it," Yugi prayed under his breath. Malik got there first and cursed loudly.

"They didn't find it," he spat angrily. "Listen."

"…_the store was examined between the hours of 4.00PM and 5.00PM, with the search eventually yielding no conclusive results. Ministry officials would not say what they had been searching for, only that the information was classified for the safety of the informant…"_

"Oh for the love of Isis!" Bakura said angrily in Egyptian, having taken over to read the article for himself. "It was under the counter! How hard is it to find a chunk of rock the size of your head?!"

Malik kicked him swiftly in the leg.

"You're drawing attention to yourself!" he warned. "Besides, you blew the counter to smithereens. I think that Borgin guy would have had the sense to move it out of sight!"

Bakura was about to retort, but at this point Professor McGonagall came around handing out everyone's timetables, and thus providing a distraction from the paper. Harry, Ron and Hermione, who had been watching the foreign outbursts in surprise did not have a chance to question them, nor did Hermione have the opportunity to get her paper back. While no one was looking, Malik shoved it into his school bag.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were all cleared for the subjects they wanted, before McGonagall moved onto the transfers. Malik was first, and was cleared for Transfiguration, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions and Ancient Runes. Hermione beamed at him upon finding out that they would be in the same class, and she immediately volunteered to help him should he need it. Malik however, shook her off.

"I'll be fine thanks Hermione," he assured her. "I've been, living breathing and dreaming ancient scriptures my whole life. This class will be a snap."

Hermione looked sceptical, but her attention was diverted as Ron snorted loudly at Ryou.

"You're doing Divination?" he asked in disbelief. Ryou was scanning his own timetable, which was exactly the same as Malik's except when the Egyptian boy had Ancient Runes, Ryou had Divination. Currently, the albino sat there staring at Ron with a bewildered look on his face.

"What's wrong with that?" he asked. Ron chortled before continuing.

"Well here's a hint for you mate," the redhead said. "Just make up something horrible and Trelawney will buy is easy."

Ryou look mildly offended at this and Malik kicked Ron under the table to make him shut up.

"Thank you for your advice Ron," Ryou said stiffly. "But I have no need to cheat my way through a class."

"Yeah, Ryou's been dabbling in the occult for years," Yugi piped up. "He knows how to pass that class without cheating."

Ryou blushed at the praise. Hermione scoffed and Ron just sat there and rubbed his sore leg. Harry raised an eyebrow. His friends seemed confident that Ryou would be fine with predicting the future. But Professor McGonagalls words from his third year kept echoing in his mind.

"_Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. True Seers are rare…"_

Harry decided to put it out of his mind. Just because he did not like Divination, and more specifically Professor Trelawney, did not mean that there were not people out there who couldn't enjoy it. Though from the look on Hermione's face he could tell that her opinion of Ryou had just dropped significantly.

Yugi began looking over his own timetable. He was cleared for Transfiguration, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Potions, but he was also taking Care of Magical Creatures and was thrilled to see that he had a double lesson after break.

"Ooh Hagrid takes that class doesn't he?" the diminutive duellist asked excitedly.

"Yep," Harry nodded. "But watch yourself. Hagrid has a tendency to bring…well to be blunt, dangerous creatures into class."

Yugi just shrugged. "I'm sure I've faced worse." He trailed off grinning at Ryou and Malik who both snickered.

Hermione quickly excused herself from breakfast to get her books for Ancient Runes, and Malik and Ryou followed obediently, also having lessons to go to. With nothing left to do until second lesson, Harry, Ron and Yugi made their way back to the Gryffindor Common Room, intending to waste away their free period. Yugi retreated back to the dormitory to get his deck. In between sorting through the cards he had bought with him he began outlining the finer details of the game to an enthusiastic Harry and Ron.

They met up with Hermione, Malik and Ryou on their way to Defence Against the Dark Arts. Ryou was beaming, having had an interesting first lesson (apparently Professor Trelawney liked him). As soon as they rounded the corner to Snape's classroom however, Parvati and Lavender latched onto the poor boy, offering him extra help should he need it. Yugi and Malik had smothered their snickers at the sight of their poor flustered friend. Hermione had just sniffed disdainfully and muttered something about Divination being superstitious nonsense. Yugi had found out from Malik later that she was in a bad mood because he had out performed her in Ancient Runes and refused to tell her where he had learned everything.

The classroom was the darkest and dreariest that Harry, Ron and Hermione had ever seen it in their five years of going there. The windows were draped in heavy black curtains, and the only light seemed to come from the lamps on the wall. Snape's desk was bare, save for a small stack of parchment and a quill.

"This is worse than the bloody dungeons," Ron muttered. "At least there, Snape had a reason for making the place look creepy with all those floating limbs in jars…"

"Seats everybody," the teacher in question ordered, causing everyone to jump. He had entered the room so quietly that no one had noticed. Everyone scrambled for seats. Yugi took the seat next to Hermione, with Harry and Ron on their other side. Malik quickly dragged Ryou to the desk behind them. In the scurry for books and quills, Yugi exchanged a meaningful glance with both of his friends. They all agreed on one thing. This man was dark and not to be trusted.

Almost as if guessing that they were thinking about him, Snape's gaze settled on them. Malik glared back and Yugi and Ryou tried to look neutral. The teacher sneered in obvious contempt before addressing the class.

//_Evil. They named it Snape_// Yami summarised.

/_I admit he feels dark_/ Yugi agreed. /_But he might not be all bad. I mean he might just be like Malik and have a dark past or something_/

Yami did have to agree that his hikari had a point. Every human had darkness, but the difference was those who chose to reject it and those who chose to embrace it. Malik had originally fed his darkness and the result had been Marik. But this man, Yami could see him wearing his darkness like a cloak. The question was, was what was underneath that cloak dark too? Or was the darkness just a mask?

//_You have a point Yugi_// Yami admitted. //_But I don't think we'll be trusting him with anything important anytime soon_//

Snape had finished talking and was lecturing the class on non verbal spells. Yugi and Ryou followed easily. Much of the information about non verbal spells, such as performing them without an incantation and needing the right concentration, was common sense. Malik however found his attention quickly waning. This had always happened in Domino High too. He had only been there for a full term, and was still not used to formal education. His mind wandered, as it had done a lot in the past twenty four hours, to his flashback on the train.

He could deal with reliving the initiation. Heck he could even deal with feeling the pain if needs be. What he still could not deal with was calling out for his yami. He knew what his dark had done to him and to his friends. So why did he reach out for him? It wasn't as though he needed Marik to protect him right?

"_Ah but you needed him when you were ten didn't you?"_ a traitorous little part of his mind reminded him. "_You needed him to shield you from all that pain because you were too scared to handle it yourself. You're pathetic Malik."_

Malik tried to shake these thoughts away, but they continued to linger, eating away at his mind.

The chairs around him scraped against the floor and Malik realised that everyone was getting to their feet. Snape swooped on the transfers as the rest of the class paired off to practise.

"You three," he addressed them. Malik growled angrily. He could see out of the corner of his eye, what looked like a defiant spark in Ryou's eyes, and he guessed that Bakura was also decidedly miffed.

"I have a selection of texts and spells for you to learn," Snape said, handing them each a small book. "That will bring you up to first year standard. If you wish to have any hope of catching up to the rest of the class, I suggest you start studying them now."

Malik growled again, his hands tightening around his book. Ryou was watching Snape motionlessly as though seeing something about him that no one else could. Yugi however attempted to be polite and thanked the Professor for the information. Snape just sneered at him before sweeping back to the other side of the classroom. Yugi pouted.

/_Although I will admit that that was exceptionally rude of him_/ he admitted and he felt a wave of triumph from his other half at being proved right.

/_Smug Pharaoh_/ Yugi thought, before flicking through the book. Ryou was already half way down the first page of spells and their effects. There was a slightly glazed over look that indicated he was talking to Bakura.

/_Did you sense anything?_/ Ryou asked, withdrawing his hand from his pocket, where he had been clutching the Millennium Eye.

//_Not a thing_// Bakura said, sounding very frustrated. //_Damn eye! First that Dumbledore guy and now Snape! Its like they've got some great big mental brick wall around their minds_//

/_Is it just them?_/ Ryou asked. /_Or is it happening with other people too?_/

//_Just them so far_// Bakura admitted. //_I managed to scan the minds of every person in our dorm last night, bar the Pharaoh and Malik of course. Everyone seems to be normal, though that Harry boy is slightly worrying_//

/_Harry?_/ Ryou asked curiously, looking at the black haired boy, who was attempting to stun Ron without speaking. /_What's wrong with him?_/

//_There's evidence that his mind has been broken into repeatedly, most of the damage done in the last year particularly. He seems harmless for now, but we should keep an eye on him. As for Dumbledore and Snape, I can only guess that they know a way to shield their mind from intruders_//

Ryou nodded, but inwardly felt worried. If they couldn't read Snape's mind, how did they know how dangerous he was? And who on Earth could have ripped up Harry's mind so badly?

Next to him, Malik was staring at his book with a bored expression on his face. He had received something similar in Ancient Runes, until he had proved to his teacher that he was already well beyond sixth year standard when translating Egyptian runes. She had started him on Aztecs and other civilisations instead, which were the translations being studied at the present moment. Malik was breezing through them. He guessed it came from being bought up learning two different languages, and learning yet another since then, but he had a knack for picking up new languages.

Half an hour and Malik was still only about half way down the first page. He kept getting distracted. He could not help having a short attention span, and besides, the events in the classroom were much more interesting to watch. Most of the students were attempting to stun their opponent or repel the curses, but so far no one was having any success, and most people were looking, in Malik's opinion, quiet comical as they struggled to perform the spells without moving their lips. He noticed that some people were cheating and whispering the curses under their breath.

Ryou and Yugi however were firmly engrossed in their reading, though occasionally Yugi looked up if a spell came too close to them.

"Not a lot we can use in a real fight," the tri colour hair duellist commented after a while. "The most we learn in first year is how to blast someone away from us. Oh and how to make our opponents tap dance."

"Yeah because that's _so_ useful," Bakura said sarcastically, apparently having come out of his soul room in spirit form to give his opinion. Yami also appeared, though thankfully they were invisible to everyone else in the class but the Millennium Item holders. Which was extremely fortunate as Harry and Ron had apparently slipped away from Snape's eye long enough to come and talk.

"You alright?" Ron asked, peering curiously over Malik's shoulder at the book. "That all the stuff you've got to catch up on?"

"All of the first year stuff," Ryou said. "We have to be first year standard by Halloween. This is sort of like a crash course if you will."

"But all these hexes are useless," Malik complained pouting.

"Fair point," Harry remarked, reading the list. "You don't really get to learn any of the serious stuff till fourth year. Then you learn stunning, impedimenta, shield charms…"

"Can't we just," Bakura asked, taking control of the body so he could speak aloud to everyone. "I dunno…stab the person who's attacking us?"

Yugi and the semi invisible Yami rolled their eyes in unison. Malik smirked at the idea.

"Oh so while a guy is blasting a potentially lethal hex at you, you're going to throw a knife at them are you B…Ryou?"

"Why not?" Bakura asked before turning to Harry. "What would happen if you didn't have your wand and I threw a punch at you right now?"

"Erm…" Harry trailed off, wondering when the quiet withdrawn Ryou he had met a few days ago had developed violent tendencies. "I'd probably…get my nose broken…"

"Exactly!" Bakura said. "You all rely too much on your magic. You need to be able to dodge blows and fight without using your wand. If you put all your faith in your magic then what happens when it gets taken away? It can cost you your life."

Harry had to admit that he had a point. He could think of many an occasion when he had been in a situation where he had been in danger and he had not been able to reach his wand.

"Good point," Yami said, having taken over to reply. "Actually that is a very good point."

"Good Gods, did I just hear Yugi tell me I had a good idea?" Bakura asked, gleefully deciding to milk the Pharaoh's words for all they were worth. "Something devastating must have happened to have bought about this phenomenon. Am I dying? Malik! You were supposed to tell me if I started dying again!"

Malik had sunk to the floor, laughing so hard that he had started to cry. Yami stood there resisting the urge to tell Bakura to cram a sock in it. He had a feeling that would attract more attention than necessary.

"You'd better do something about that _thing_ on the floor," came the contemptuous voice of Draco Malfoy. "We wouldn't want it to have an accident now would we?"

There was a dull round of chuckling from the Slytherins in the class. Malik suddenly seemed to realise his position and got up off the floor quickly, glaring at Malfoy as he did so.

"I don't remember asking you to join in our conversation," Bakura snapped at Malfoy. The blond just smirked.

"Why shouldn't I? I'm not threatened by a bunch of newcomers who don't even know how to stun yet."

"We don't need to know how to stun," Yami shot back. "We're all more than capable of dealing with you."

"Clearly," Malfoy said sarcastically. "So how many colour changing charms were you 'capable of dealing with' before your hair wound up like that?"

"Look boy you are in no position to be insulting our hair when yours is slicked back with a lakes worth of gel," Malik snapped.

"Hey! My name isn't boy!" Malfoy snapped. "I have a name and you should damn well use it!"

"Well yes but using your name would mean acknowledging that you exist," Bakura said. "So you'll forgive me if I want to delay this unpleasant prospect for as long as possible."

Ron doubled over laughing, and nearby, Dean and Seamus were repressing their own snickers. Harry however was wondering how on Earth the transfers had the guts to cuss out Draco Malfoy. Either they were utterly insane or they did not know how much danger they could be in.

Malfoy however had had enough. He raised his wand and shouted "_Impedimenta!"_ Those in the class who weren't already watching the fight, including Snape, turned to see Malfoy with his wand pointed at the transfers, a streak of blue light racing towards them. Yami just calming fingered his deck in the pocket of his robes and found the very same Mirror Force trap card he had used the previous week on the Death Eaters. Beneath his robes the Puzzle glowed, the shield erupted in front of the three students and the attack bounced back at Malfoy, who did not duck quickly enough.

"I told you we were capable of dealing with you," Yami said smugly. The whole class had stopped practising and were watching in shock. Malfoy was glaring, but due to the rebounded hex he was unable to move.

"Detention! All three of you! My office, tonight at eight o clock." Everyone's hearts sank as they remembered that Snape was in the classroom too.

"What?!" Malik demanded. "He started it!"

"Watch yourself Mr Ishtar or I shall deduct points too," said Snape silkily.

"Go ahead you prejudice ba…"

"Malik!" Yami warned, latching onto the taller boy's arm just in case he decided to do something stupid.

"Drop it Ishtar," Bakura snapped in Japanese. "He's not worth it!"

It was perhaps fortunate at this point that the bell rang for break. Malik was the first out of the classroom, swinging his bag over his shoulder with such force that he almost knocked over a poor second year in the corridor. Bakura retreated back to his soul room, leaving Ryou to run after him. Yami stayed with Harry, Ron and Hermione, knowing that he would probably just get on the Tomb Keeper's nerves at this point.

"Is he going to be alright?" Harry asked, as they watched Malfoy limp out of the door, his pride damaged. The Pharaoh quickly retreated to his soul room when he saw that the danger had gone.

"He'll be fine," Yugi said, throwing his belongings into his bag. "He just needs to cool off."

"How did you perform a shield charm like that?" Hermione asked. "You said you'd never learned how to use magic before, and you're starting at first year level. That charm is fourth year standard…"

"Hermione," Yugi said firmly. "Whatever that may have looked like, that was not a shield charm. That was something else. And no," he added seeing them all open their mouths. "I can't tell you how I did it. I'm sorry. I'm going to get my books. I'll see you at lunch."

And he hurried away before they could ask any more.

//_Well handled Aibou_// Yami said, thankful that Yugi had kept his cool and not said anything.

/_Thanks_/ Yugi replied before a feeling of guilt blossomed in the back of his mind.

//_Don't feel bad about it Yugi_// Yami said comfortingly. //_You know we can't let them know. It's for their own safety_//

/_I know_/ Yugi said. /_Believe me I do. But I just hate lying to people, especially nice people like those guys_/

//_You didn't lie_// Yami soothed. //_You just refrained from mentioning_//

Yugi did not answer this as he headed towards the dormitory to get his books for Care of Magical Creatures. Because deep down, he and Yami both knew that keeping secrets could be just as bad as lying.

OOO

By lunchtime Malik seemed to have calmed down and was acting normally (or as normal as he ever did). Ryou was looking far more relaxed, having used his two free lessons to finish his Divination homework, and to begin working on their Defence Against the Dark Arts first year assignments. Malik had decided to do something that was in his own words 'far more constructive' and rearranged his deck. Having done that and after a little more nagging from Ryou he had finished his Ancient Runes homework by the time Yugi had returned from Care of Magical Creatures. The shorter boy was beaming when he joined his friends in the Great Hall.

"It was supposed to be a refresher lesson from last years work," he was saying as everyone helped themselves to cottage pie. "So Hagrid showed us Unicorns! He managed to find a young male. It hadn't turned white yet. Apparently they're silver when they're adolescents…"

As he continued to babble, Harry, Ron and Hermione, who had joined them after finding out that Malik was back to his usual self, exchanged relieved glances. They had been truly worried that Hagrid would bring in something dangerous.

As soon as Yugi was finished, Ryou began reiterating his Divination class that morning. Hermione buried herself behind one of her Ancient Runes books and was trying to get through the homework. Malik sat there and smirked as she struggled through it.

"So did you get given make up work in Divination too?" Yugi asked, looking through his Care of Magical Creatures book at all the creatures that the rest of his class had studied already. Ryou shook his fluffy white head.

"No. Professor Trelawney wanted me to, but I said I'd already researched most of the astronomical stuff. And I don't use palmistry or tea leaves, and I never got the hang of crystal gazing. She tested me on my dream divination and she said I was fine with that…"

"You impressed Trelawney?" Ron asked sceptically. Ryou shrugged.

"I don't know, I just did what I knew," he said. "But we're learning tarot now."

Yugi and Malik grinned. They knew tarot was Ryou's speciality, whether with real cards or a duelling deck, his predictions were normally accurate.

"And?" Malik asked. "What did she think?"

Ryou shrugged again. "I have no idea. She didn't pass the table again. She went to talk to some girls…Parvati and Lavender I think."

"What did the cards tell you?" Yugi asked in interest.

"That he's going to be haunted by a giant mutant carrot probably," Ron scoffed. Ryou looked at the table.

"I'd rather not say thanks," he said, taking a sip of his drink.

//_What _did_ you ask the cards?_// Bakura asked in interest. He had fallen asleep halfway through Divination, complaining that the scent of the room was making him nauseas. Ryou had to admit that it had made him woozy too and it had been more difficult to concentrate.

/_Nothing you'd be interested in Bakura_/ he replied curtly. Bakura felt a mild flare of anger that Ryou would dare keep anything from him, but he repressed it quickly.

"_We all have secrets," _the spirit thought to himself, thinking of his own past that he had yet to tell Ryou about.

Ryou ignored Hermione's eye roll and a mutter of 'load of rubbish'. He would normally have shared his predictions with Bakura, but his yami had been the subject this time. He had been wondering about Bakura's sudden change of heart (no pun intended). Ever since his return from the Shadow Realm he had been far easier to live with, but a part of Ryou was worried that it would not last long. His yami was an exceptionally dangerous individual and he did not want him to revert back to his previous temperamental self.

He had done three readings, one with the tarot deck and two with his duelling deck. All of them had given the same answer. That giving Bakura time and leaving him be would bring answers. And Ryou had to admit, that was probably the best route to take with his moody alter ego.

The final lesson of the day was double Potions. The transfers followed Harry, Ron and Hermione to the dungeons, feeling more and more depressed by the dark and gloomy corridors as they went.

"Charming place," Malik commented as they entered the classroom, where the strangely coloured bottles and jars containing floating things loomed at them from the shelves.

"I dunno," Ron shrugged. "Feels warmer now that Snape's not here."

All six of them took one of the tables and began setting up their cauldrons. Slughorn waddled into the class as the bell rang. Bakura, who had been allowed to take over as Ryou had promised, smirked and leaned over towards Malik.

"He could feed three Duel Monsters quite happily for a week," he commented. Malik stifled his giggles.

/_Bakura!_/ Ryou admonished. /_That was very rude!_/

//_Hey let me have my fun, alright landlord?_// Bakura snapped, settling back into his chair in a relaxed pose.

Slughorn began introducing them to some of the potions that they would be attempting to brew at N.E.W.T level. Yugi attentively took notes, while Bakura and Malik continued to whisper to each other in rapid but hushed Egyptian. Hermione was shooting the two irritable and slightly curious looks. She knew she recognised the language from somewhere but she just could not remember where.

Finally Slughorn set them their task, brewing the Draught of Living Death. He asked the transfers to join in, after he had handed them their course requirements for the first year. Their task, aside from learning the theory, was to bring him one of the assigned potions each week, completed in their free time.

If Slughorn did not expect much from them as newcomers, he was sadly mistaken. After receiving their work, Yugi, Bakura and Malik paired up with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Only Hermione had made any progress by that point, and it was slowly beginning to grind to a halt anyway. While Yugi tried to help, Bakura joined up with Harry, examined the contents of his cauldron and raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't supposed to be going pink by this point?" he asked, gazing at the royal blue contents of Harry's cauldron.

"Its not working," Harry replied dully. "Should have guessed really."

"Hmm…" Bakura grunted, before scanning the book and snorting.

"The instructions aren't very clear. You'd better get rid of that. We can try again and still finish in time if we start now."

Harry raised an eyebrow, but then he mused that the results couldn't be worse than they were now, and so he flicked his wand and the potion vanished. Bakura made a mental note of the spell in his head so he could test it out later, before examining the potions book.

"Okay, you cut up the valerian roots. I'll get the powdered asphodel and the wormwood."

/_This looks just like cooking_/ Ryou commented from inside his soul room. Bakura could tell that his hikari was seriously regretting letting him in control during this obviously interesting lesson. But a deal was a deal after all.

//_It reminds me of learning about poisons in Egypt_// Bakura replied casually.

/_You used to poison people?!_/ Ryou asked horrified. Bakura rolled his eyes.

//_Really landlord, must you think of me in such a negative light? Besides you know I prefer to use knives. Blood is so much more elegant than shoving a vial of liquid down someone's _throat//

He could feel Ryou shuddering in his soul room and he rolled his eyes.

//_Okay in all seriousness. It was essential for thieves to know poisons. They used to tip needles with them in Tombs. You'd walk along thinking of the gold you'd be reaping, and suddenly a needle shoots out of nowhere and the poison kills you in minutes. We used to practise mixing antidotes in case one of our team got hit_//

/_Oh…_/ Ryou trailed off guiltily. /_Sorry yami_/

Bakura grunted, but in all honesty, he couldn't really blame Ryou for jumping to conclusions. He watched as Harry finished cutting up the valerian roots and tipped them into the cauldron. Bakura finished mixing the wormwood and asphodel and reached for the knife and the sopophorous bean.

Next to them, Ron and Malik appeared to be stuck in a whirlwind of disaster. Their cauldron was issuing copious amounts of thick black smoke, through which the two Gryffindors could be seen prodding the contents with their wands. Yugi and Hermione appeared to be having better luck, but from the look on Hermione's face, she was exceptionally peeved. Yugi had given up helping by this point, and was just standing back with a sheepish look on his face. He saw Bakura watching and he smiled at him.

Bakura, realising that the bean was not cutting, slammed his hand down on the side of his knife, crushing the bean against the table. Juice oozed out onto the wood, but Harry was more concerned with something else.

"Ryou your hand is bleeding," he said in alarm. The Tomb Robber glanced down at his left hand and raised an eyebrow. He must have caught it on the edge of the blade when he hit it.

"How do you like that?" he asked casually, watching the blood ooze out of the cut. He resisted the urge to lick it clean, not because he was in public, but because there was bean juice all over it. It was the same hand he had once slammed through the diorama tower in Monster World. Ryou's body still bore the scar.

/_Yami please be careful_/ Ryou soothed, and Bakura was surprised that his host did not sound reproachful.

//_It was an accident_// he said peevishly, brushing off Harry's worry and scooping up the juice of the bean and throwing it into the cauldron.

"Start stirring Harry," he ordered as Yugi came hurrying over.

"Are you alright Bakura?" he asked, being sure to switch into Japanese. Bakura shook him off, but he accepted the tissue that Yugi offered. The bean juice was starting to irritate the cut.

"I'm fine," he said. "It's just a cut. And before his highness asks," he said, seeing the red glare appear in Yugi's eyes. "It was an accident. I was just irritated that the bean wasn't cutting so I hit it."

Yugi looked worriedly at Bakura and the thief glared.

"Do you really think I would intentionally hurt Ryou's body?" he asked. "In case you have forgotten, I have to live here too."

/_You don't need to sound so bitter about it_/ Ryou muttered sadly. Bakura rolled his eyes, realising how it had probably sounded. Yugi at least had the decency to look ashamed of himself.

"I'm sorry Bakura," he said. "You're right. We shouldn't judge."

Bakura did not acknowledge him. Instead he turned his head to Harry, who was biting his lip and staring desperately at the potion.

/_He's stirring too hard_/ Ryou said, but the tone in his voice indicated that he was still upset. /_Let me_/

And before Bakura could say another word, he was quickly back in his soul room. Ryou hurried back to Harry's side. The potion had not changed colour as it was supposed to be.

"Harry you're stirring it too forcibly," he said, taking the stirring rod and trying himself. At first there was no change, but eventually the potion began to turn paler. Ryou checked the book as he continued. It was not quite the shade it should be, but it was still very close.

"How are you doing that?" Hermione asked in astonishment, from where she stood stirring her own potion furiously. Ryou blushed.

"You…you just need to be gentle," he said. "Slow up a bit and don't force it so much."

Hermione did as she was told, and immediately her potion began to lighten, though more slowly than Harry and Ryou's.

//_Am I going to get control back now?_// Bakura asked. //_You did promise the whole afternoon_//

Ryou, who was still mildly upset about his yami's comment, was half tempted to tell him no. But a promise was a promise. And besides, he could always do his homework that evening. So he relinquished control to Bakura again without a word.

/_I think Bakura's upset Ryou_/ Yugi said, watching Hermione stir their potion out of the corner of one eye, and studying the Tomb Robber with the other.

//_Well he did sound bitter earlier_// Yami remarked. //_I wish Bakura would just accept that Ryou is his hikari, and not treat him like a burden. Ra only knows what its doing to Ryou psychologically. No one likes thinking they're worthless_//

/_I don't know_/ Yugi remarked. /_Ryou used to get bullied a lot before the Ring came to him. I know how that feels, and I think Ryou knows how it feels to be worthless_/

//_That's what yami's are for_// the Pharaoh said. //_We're supposed to protect you, to be there for you. Bakura's idea of protecting Ryou was…_//

/_To seal away those that hurt him in Monster World figurines_/ Yugi pointed out. /_But if you think about it Yami, you did too. When I was in trouble you challenged people to Shadow Games, and you trapped them in Penalty Games when they lost_/

//_How can you compare me to Bakura?_// Yami asked in disbelief. //_We're nothing alike! I don't kill people for world domination!_//

/_I know Other Me, I wasn't finished_/ Yugi said./_What I was going to say was, you don't do that anymore, because you say you've learned kindness from me, and that there are more things more important than winning a game. Remember duelling Kaiba at Pegasus's castle? Maybe Bakura just needs to learn kindness from Ryou_/

The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle thought about this for a long time. He remembered all too well how he had behaved when he had first been released from the Puzzle. He had challenged people to Shadow Games, and he had enjoyed sending them to their own personal hell, believing that they deserved what they got. But then he and Yugi had started working together, and he had learned that sometimes people deserved another chance. Yugi had exposed him to friendship and compassion, and he thought (or at least he hoped) he was a better person for it now.

Bakura's life, both past and present had been dark and full of suffering. Maybe all he needed was Ryou to show him some kindness. Then maybe they would finally come to an understanding.

* * *

**A/N: **The Planes of Passage is a real book. It's the fourth one in the Earth's Children series. I would highly recommend these books to anyone.

I know in regards to lessons and stuff I borrowed heavily from HBP. But this is one of the only times I will be doing so. The lessons will be slightly different, particularly since we are focusing more on Yugi, Ryou and Malik as opposed to the rest of the year.

Bakura impaling Ryou's hand onto the spire of the Monster World diorama happened in episode 27 of season 0 and Volume 7 of the manga.

I've been bullied into doing NaNoWriMo this year (I've been bullied into a lot of things this year now I think about it. Facebook, NaNo...what's next?). Hopefully it won't affect my updates, providing I'm not racing around like a headless chicken trying to complete my word count for the day (I wonder how long it'll be before I start going to the 'NaNoWriMo ate my soul' forum?) I will however try and update on the 18th of November or around about then (its been three years since I joined fanfiction!)

Don't forget to push the purple button... go on push it... I dare you to push it... you know you want too... go on...


	8. Chapter 8: The DA Returns

**Disclaimer: **YuGiOh and Harry Potter are still not mine. Not yet anyway… (evil grin)

**Chapter 8: The DA returns**

The heavy storm that had welcomed everyone back to Hogwarts had cleared off by the Wednesday, leaving clear sky as far as could be seen. Yet there was a noticeable nip in the air that was uncommon for this early in autumn. Harry had explained after a while that it was because the Dementors were breeding, the weather was taking a significant dip. Britain had suffered a very wet summer and now winter looked to be coming early.

The students were unaffected for the most part, the increasing workload that they now had to deal with taking priority over other matters. Yugi, Ryou and Malik were still ploughing resolutely through their first year material, determined to have it finished before the Halloween deadline. Malik and Ryou were already up to sixth year level for Ancient Runes and Divination, their previous knowledge giving them a distinct edge.

Their shaky starts not withstanding, the three transfers and the three Gryffindors had become fast friends. Hermione was always willing to offer a hand to any of them, if they needed it, and they were immensely grateful for it. Ryou had redeemed some respect in her eyes, by proving his talent at Potions, and Hermione never challenged his love for Divination again. She and Malik had a constant clash of talents in Ancient Runes, each trying continuously to outdo the other. However unlike Hermione, Malik loathed this class despite the fact that he was doing so well, purely because it reminded him too much of his childhood.

Yugi soon found that his best subject was Charms. He got on very well with Professor Flitwick, who was the only teacher he didn't have to look up to. By the end of the second week he had mastered 'Wingardium Leviosa', a feat which had made Harry, Ron and Hermione's jaws drop. Yami found Defence Against the Dark Arts easier than Yugi did, but he felt Yugi was the one who was supposed to be learning, so he did not interfere, except when Draco Malfoy found reason to 'accidentally' fire a spell their way, in which case, Yami was more than happy to take over for the rest of the lesson.

Malik's mood had at least brightened in comparison to his attitude at the start of term. The change began after Thursday's Defence Against the Dark Arts class, in which he managed to successfully dodge three jinxes sent his way, and hit three people with leg locker curses, and another with the Full Body Bind curse. When Snape had confronted him, he had demanded to know why Malik had skipped the easier first year curses and gone straight for the ones at the end of the book. To this Malik had replied that the other jinxes had all looked boring. After that lesson, the Egyptian had decided his new purpose in life. To piss Snape off as much as he could, a task that Bakura was always willing to help him with. Defence Against the Dark Arts quickly became Malik's best and favourite subject, despite the teacher.

It was quickly discovered however, that letting Malik near a cauldron was a bad idea. With such a short attention span, the blond rarely had the patience to sit and watch a potion brew. Ryou and Yugi offered to help, but even Yugi was finding the work difficult. Ryou was the only one who enjoyed the hours spent in the dungeons, a fact which Slughorn was quick to praise him for each lessons. And, much to his discomfort, Ryou's legion of fangirls also began to multiply at an alarming rate.

"They're like roaches," he muttered to his friends as they made their way to breakfast on Saturday morning. Today Ryou's fangirls had been joined by Harry's, as the Gryffindor Quidditch trials were due to start that morning. Both boys had sensibly hidden behind their friends as they had come down the stairs to find the hordes of girls giggling at them.

"You mean when you try and kill them and they make that cool crunching noise as their exoskeleton snaps?" Malik asked. Everyone gave him revolted looks. "What?"

"I'm surprised the Yugi fangirls and the Ryou fangirls haven't banded together to kidnap you both," Ron said truthfully as they sat down at the table, though after Malik's little comment none of them really felt like eating much.

"Least they aren't as bad as the fans in Domino," Yugi said fairly. "They used to wait outside our school and challenge me to duels. I nearly got trampled on more than one occasion."

Malik and Ryou exchanged longing looks with their short friend. They had tried the Duel Disks the previous weekend, only to have them sit there lifeless as if there was no power in them. They would need to think of another way to get them to work. For now they were bound to tabletop duels.

"Mail's here," Malik commented, squinting up at the ceiling. "Is that…Yugi I think that's Taiyo!"

Yugi's head snapped up so quickly it was a wonder he did not get whiplash. The barn owl flew down to his master, a letter tied securely to his leg, his feathers distinctly ruffled from travelling so far.

"Well now we know how long it takes him to get to Japan and back," Malik said. "One week there and one week back."

"Thanks Taiyo," Yugi smiled, untying the letter and giving the owl some of his bacon. "You go get some rest."

The owl hooted before taking off again. Yugi ripped open the envelope eagerly, finding several individual sheets of paper.

"Here Malik, there's one in here from Ishizu. Seto must have got them all. Looks like there's one from Joey and Grandpa too."

He handed Malik's letter over, set Joey's and Solomon's down, and unfolded Seto's reply. The transfers had to laugh. In the very strict and professional way that Seto was, the letter was word processed. Yugi read it aloud so the other two could hear, and because it was in Japanese, Harry, Ron and Hermione were left to go back to their breakfast. It was really none of their business anyway.

"_Yugi Mutou – what the hell is wrong with you? Are you completely insane, sending that bird to my office? It damaged a stack of reports, messed up my filing, and my secretary has taken a week of sick leave to recover from the shock of seeing a bird indoors. Next time I see you, you are going down!"_

"Pleasant as ever isn't he?" Malik asked dryly. Yugi hushed him before continuing.

"_I took the liberty of delivering your messages to the mutt and to your Grandfather. Their replies are enclosed along with a letter for Ishtar from his sister. Wheeler also took the liberty of getting in contact with everyone else we know who was involved with Dartz last time. His findings are in his letter._

_In between tracking all the disappearances in Britain for myself, and protecting your Grandfather and your cheerleaders, I have also been in contact with Pegasus. He assured me that all known copies of the Seal of Orichalcos including Dartz's extra cards had been tracked down and destroyed. However it is possible if this Voldemort character has taken an interest in the Orichalcos that he will send duellists to do his dirty work too, as Dartz proved it is an effective way to gather souls. Pegasus has promised to keep an eye out and spread the word among duellists._

_Unfortunately for all of us the next major tournament is the Japanese Regionals, which take place at Christmas. I'm arranging to have all the competitors screened as a precaution, so if Voldemort is looking to recruit we will know immediately. The last thing we want is him upstaging a tournament and causing mass panic. I am also checking the details of all the competitors who were at the British Regionals a week ago. That would have been a prime time for Voldemort to look for hired help. Fortunately for us, the Regionals in Britain are far smaller than the tournaments here in Japan._

_Be on your guard. Don't let anyone beat you. Don't forget that honour belongs to me._

_Seto Kaiba."_

"I think that was his way of saying 'take care'," Yugi mused, before reaching for the reply from Joey. Malik however was doing his best imitation of Kaiba, to the amusement of Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Look at me, I'm Seto Kaiba! Fear me and my ridiculously dramatic trench coat! My ego is so big, that it needs it own area code! This blatantly supernatural stuff can't be magic! It must be a mind trick!"

Harry and Ron snorted at the blonde's impression. Hermione was trying not to smile, but the corners of her mouth quirked rebelliously upwards. Yugi poked his friend, before reading the messy scrawl that was Joey's handwriting.

"_Hey Yug. Glad to hear everything's okay. Man it's been weird not having you three around. But everyone's okay here right now. I've been helping your Gramps out after school. That's where I am now. Kaiba stormed in half an hour ago with your letter, raving about owls, and with cuts and scratches all over his hand. Just what did you do to him?"_

Yugi paused so everyone could laugh. They could just imagine Joey getting a kick out of Taiyo attacking Seto.

"_Anyway, I called everyone one we know to warn them about the Orichalcos. Mai told me she'd keep an eye out and she also told me to tell you to take care of yourselves. I also got a hold of Valon, who promised to pass the message on to Raphael and Alister, since I don't have their numbers. But what really surprised me was that Weevil and Rex have completely vanished. No one has seen or heard anything of them since the KC Championships. I dunno about you, but I'm worried. It's possible that this Voldemort guy may have found them first. Kaiba reckons if he's using the Orichalcos he's gonna want to recruit duellists. Rex and Weevil would be easy targets._

_Kaiba's talking about screening the Regionals over Christmas. I've decided since you and Kaiba can't enter (being the current World Champs and all) I'm going to enter so I can go keep an eye out for anyone acting funny._

_Say hi to Yami, Ryou and Malik for me. And Bakura I guess. Hope he isn't causing too much trouble._

_Speak to you soon!_

_Joey"_

//_Why must everyone assume the worst about me?_// Bakura asked innocently in Ryou's mind. //_I've been a good boy haven't I landlord?_//

The albino rolled his eyes and ignored his tenant.

"Everything okay at home?" Harry asked.

"Yep everything's great," Yugi said. He was happy now that the replies had come, especially upon learning that Joey was keeping an eye on Grandpa.

"Its cool that Joey wants to enter the Regionals," he said grinning. "I'm sure he'll have a brilliant chance."

Ryou nodded, but looked mildly disheartened. He would have entered the British Regionals himself this year, had the letter from Hogwarts not come so late. He shrugged guessing that there was always next year. He went back to his toast, deciding not to dwell on what might have been. Yugi meanwhile, pulled out the final letter and began to read that to himself. Malik was already reading his own, a vacant look on his face.

"_Don't get into trouble…keep a lid on your temper…_Gods I've been away for two weeks and she already expects me to be in trouble!"

"Well there was the incident in Potions on Wednesday," Yugi remarked conversationally. Malik gave him an ugly look.

"It wasn't my fault!" he snapped. "I don't know why the potions aren't working for me!"

Yugi and Ryou exchanged looks. They knew full well that it was Malik's lack of patience that caused him to struggle with Potions. But then again, you had to have at least one bad subject. Though perhaps 'bad subject' was an understatement considering that in the span of two weeks, Malik had melted his cauldron, almost set his hair on fire, and caused thick shocking pink smoke to fill the dungeons, making everyone light-headed and sleepy. And then there was the incident when he had tripped Draco Malfoy, almost sending him face first into his cauldron of half completed potion.

Harry and Ron excused themselves soon after to head out for the Quidditch pitch. Hermione talked the transfers into going back to the Common room so she could get a book to read during the trials, to which they only agreed because Malik had discovered that he had left his deck upstairs.

"Idiot!" Bakura had ranted at him as he had come down the stairs. "What would have happened if we had been attacked out there?"

"How would cards help you if you were attacked?" Hermione asked, thinking that someone like Malfoy was not likely to be scared of a batch of muggle playing cards. Though given some of the creatures in Ryou's deck she imagined that they would at least give him the odd nightmare.

"Sometimes even something as simple as a card game can be used in a powerful way," Yugi said mysteriously. Hermione raised an eyebrow but did not say anything else. She imagined this was a lot like saying "it's only a game" to Harry and Ron where Quidditch was concerned. To which they would look at her and say "you just don't understand".

By the time they made it out to the Quidditch pitch, the trails for the Chasers were already over and the Beater trials were just beginning. Hermione outlined the basics of the game and the three new students found themselves hanging off her every word. Yugi was especially interested, but he knew he would never be able to play. Not only could he not ride a broom, but Physical Education had always been his worst subject in school.

All of them seemed to find the idea of the wizards method of transport fascinating. By the time the Beaters had been decided, Malik had already decided he wanted to go on a broom. Yugi and Ryou had assured him that he would be completely on his own if he did, as neither of them had any particular urges to get up and fly. In Yugi's opinion, if he wanted to fly, he would use one of his dragons.

//_Speaking of dragons_// Yami said. //_Remind me next time we write to Kaiba to brag that there are dragons in this world_//

Yugi smirked at the idea of how Kaiba would react to this piece of news, as the Keepers lined up along the pitch. Ron's flaming hair was easily distinguishable. Malik however was amusing himself by pointing at various people and voicing his opinion.

"He's gonna crash…he's gonna slam into the goals…she's gonna fall off her broom…"

"And you know this how?" Ryou asked, pausing in the action of shuffling his cards. "You're not thinking of using the Rod for your entertainment are you Malik?"

Malik rolled his eyes and ignored Hermione's curious look at the sentence.

"Really Ryou why must you suspect me of wrongdoing? It's a simple matter of body language. Just look at them. The first one is shaking so much that he can barely walk straight. The second is so uncoordinated that he's almost tripped over his own feet twice in the course of these trails. And the third one keeps looking at Harry and giggling. She'll be on the floor before the first goal."

And scarily enough, ten minutes later, he was proved exactly right.

"Maybe you should be taking Divination," Yugi commented, as the third person was led off by a friend. She was having trouble walking straight as she was doubled over with laughter.

"Erm no thanks," Malik said shuddering. "No offence Ryou, but from what I've heard, Trelawney couldn't predict her way out of a paper bag."

Ryou rolled his eyes, but he did not correct his friend. He'd been sensing that most of Trelawney's predictions were nothing but smoke and mirrors from day one. But he kept these thoughts to himself.

"I've been thinking guys," Yugi said slowly.

"Oh dear, never a good sign," Bakura muttered snidely, sitting next to Ryou in spirit form, though of course only the Millennium Item bearers could see him.

"Go on Yugi, what have you been thinking about?" Ryou asked kindly, shooting his darker half a look that said clearly 'behave yourself!'

"Well mostly about the Dementor on the train," Yugi admitted. "Do you remember how Harry fought it off?"

"That was the Patronus Charm," Hermione explained, looking up from her book. "It's a highly advanced spell that is used primarily to repel Dementors, though it has been known to work against other creatures such as Lethifolds."

Yugi blinked at the rapid recitation. None of them were quite used yet to Hermione randomly quoting from textbooks.

"Okay," the King of Games said slowly before picking up his point. "Anyway, I was thinking maybe we should ask him to teach us just in case we run into Dementors again."

"Good idea," Malik said. "I'd rather not sit there and have all my happiness vanish again thank you."

"You could," Hermione said slowly. "But the Patronus is a very advanced charm. Only a few wizards can produce full ones…"

"Can you?" Malik asked. Hermione blinked.

"What?"

"Can you do a Patronus?" Malik repeated.

"Well yes…" Hermione said slowly. "But I only know how because Harry taught us at DA meetings last year."

"The DA?" Ryou asked, frowning thoughtfully. "Wasn't the group you set up last year when you had the rubbish Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

Hermione nodded.

"How many people at the DA could produce Patronuses?" Yugi asked.

"At least half of us could produce vapour," Hermione said. "But only about nine or ten of us could do full bodied ones."

"Maybe we should have a word with Harry when trials are over," Yugi suggested. "It might be good to start the DA up again. Didn't Dean and Seamus say they were interested on the train?"

"But we have a good teacher this year," Hermione began doubtfully. Malik snorted.

"I'll admit it's my favourite lesson," he said. "But Snape doesn't exactly make learning fun. Besides, it's always good to have extra practise. And if Harry could teach you all how to do Patronuses then he must have been a good teacher too."

Hermione had to agree with this.

"Well we should talk to Harry first," she decided. "And then see who would be interested. At least this year we wouldn't have to hide it from the Professors I guess."

The idea fuelled them all until the trials had finished and the new team members had been decided. Harry and Ron joined them, exhausted but happy overall. Ron was elated about being made Keeper, and spent most of the meal reiterating his performance, to which everyone needed only to smile and nod occasionally. Eventually however, Ron's excited babble ended and Yugi was able to get Harry's attention.

"Harry, we wanted to ask you something about the DA."

Harry's attention was caught immediately. He lowered his fork and turned to look at Yugi.

"What about it?"

"We were wondering if you were going to be starting it again this year," Yugi asked. "Hermione was telling us about it, and we think you should. Ra knows everyone needs as much help as they can get. We know we've got Snape this year, but extra practise never hurt."

Harry thought about this. He hadn't admitted it, but ever since the conversation with Seamus and Dean on the train he had been toying with the idea of restarting the DA. Luna, Neville, Ginny, Dean and Seamus had been able to cast Patronuses on the train, but there were still students out there who could not. Everyone he had spoken too since returning to Hogwarts had thanked him for teaching them, and many people from his year had been excited to share their excellent Defence Against the Dark Arts OWL results.

The more Harry thought about it, the more he realised that he had missed the DA sessions. Teaching other people had made him feel as though he were doing something useful. Maybe Yugi and the others were right. It was time to help out again, in anyway they could.

"I think it's a good idea," he agreed. Ron gave a cheer and Hermione grinned.

"Brilliant Harry! Should we spread the word around to everyone?"

"No before that," Harry said, holding off his friend's eager suggestions. "I think we should speak to Dumbledore about it first. We caused him a lot of trouble with the DA last year, the least we could do is make him aware of our intentions. Then, only if he says yes, will we start putting the word out."

OOO

One week later, Harry, Ron and Hermione led the way to the Room of Requirement. Dumbledore had agreed to the reforming of the DA and the word had been spread around the school. Over the last few days, scores of people had approached either, Harry, Ron or Hermione to ask if the DA really was starting up again. Along with the first years and other younger students who were interested, Harry was estimating upwards of fifty people attending the first meeting.

There was already a crowd of ten people waiting outside the tapestry on the seventh floor. They brightened up immediately as the six Gryffindors approached. There were a few familiar faces from the previous year. Hannah Abbott was chatting avidly to Susan Bones about OWL scores, and both of them smiled at Harry as he approached. The Patil twins were nearby, both of them waving at everyone and giggling when they saw Ryou (the poor boy blushed the colour of Ron's hair and looked at the floor). There was also a cluster of first and second years, who were looking nervously at all the other students, and clearly wondering whether they were supposed to be here or not.

"There's people already inside," Parvati informed them. "We're just waiting for a few first years we invited."

Harry was grateful that they had spread the word, and glad that Hermione had thought to make and bring more magical coins with her. They passed through the already open door, and into the Room, Hermione ushering in the terrified group of newcomers with a smile. Harry was already mentally counting the number of veterans against the new recruits, and wondering what to do about the different levels of skill everyone possessed.

Most of the previous DA members were already in the room, which had fashioned itself into the familiar space for duelling practise, along with the cushions and books in the corner. Neville, Luna and Ginny grinned at the group when they noticed them. Terry Boot, Michael Corner and Justin Finch-Fletchley were sitting on one of the piles of cushions flicking through some of the books eagerly. Harry was surprised to see Cho sitting with them. As soon as she saw him however she looked away again uncomfortably.

Harry pulled Ron and Hermione to one side to discuss what they should do about the newer members. Yugi was examining the room in awe.

"This place is so cool!" he said excitedly.

"I overheard Harry talking about it," Ryou said. "The room is supposed equip itself to suit the users needs. Like now, it's got all this space to practise duelling."

/_Yami_/ Yugi mentally prodded. /_Do you want to come out for the meeting?_/

//_You need practise more than I do Yugi_// the Pharaoh told him. //_You stay out for now. But if you need to take a break I'll be here_//

Yugi nodded. Usually Yami took over when they practised in Defence Against the Arts, so he guessed that his other half wanted him to have equal practise. After all, the Dementor on the train proved that there were occasions when Yami may be unable to help.

At eight o clock, when more than fifty students had arrived, Harry called the meeting to order. After the coins were handed out to all those who needed them, he split the group in two, one for the people who had attended the year before, and the newcomers. Clearly the newer students could not begin with some of the more advanced material that the group had learned last year.

"We won't do anything new today," Harry told them as they split up. "Because no one has had practise over the summer today will be a refresher lesson for everyone who was here last year."

The veterans paired off and began duelling. A few of the younger students watched in awe as the spells began flying. Yugi, Ryou and Malik watched in interest as Hermione quickly stunned and disarmed Ron.

"Cool!" Malik said enthusiastically, as Ron slammed into the floor. Harry overheard this and grinned.

"Okay," he said, grabbing the attention of the group. "We'll start you all off with the Disarming charm this week. Next week, those of you that have it can move on to Stunning."

Harry pulled the first person he saw, which happened to be Ryou, into the centre of the room. Ryou gulped.

"Harry w-what are you…?"

"Don't worry, it won't hurt a bit," Harry assured him, drawing his wand. Ryou nervously drew his own.

"If you say so," he said.

/_How do I get dragged into these things?_/ he asked himself.

//_Guess you're just lucky like that_// Bakura replied sarcastically. //_Heads up_//

"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled, and Ryou felt his wand get wrenched from his grasp. It went flying across the room and knocked Dennis Creevey in the head. Ryou rushed to retrieve it as the audience burst into applause.

/_That wasn't so bad_/ he thought.

Harry instructed them all to pair off and try the charm for themselves. Yugi found himself pairing a timid looking first year girl, who annoyingly enough was about his height. They began sparring, with neither one succeeding. Harry began to wander between the pairs and correcting their wand work. Malik had grabbed Ryou and forced him to be his partner, and Ryou was now attempting to regain his pride by disarming him. But Malik was not going to allow himself to be disarmed, and was diving clear of the jinxes as Ryou fired them.

"Malik this isn't funny!" Ryou said in frustration. The Egyptian poked his tongue out in response.

//_Who gave Ishtar sugar?_// Bakura asked mildly, watching as Malik rolled clear and tried casting his own spell at Ryou. He didn't succeed however. Harry gave Malik some instructions and he tried again. Ryou's wand went flying again and he groaned aloud.

/_That's probably going to be the only entertainment for this lesson_/ he said. /_Watching my wand jump out of my hand_/

"Nice one Malik!" Harry congratulated. Malik looked elated as Ryou returned with his wand in hand.

"Expelliarmus!" Ryou shouted. Malik's wand twitched, but it didn't go anywhere. Ryou's shoulders slumped.

"You need a bit more force," Harry said, flicking his own wand in demonstration. Ryou mimicked him a few times before trying again. Malik however, jumped gracefully out of the way.

//_Right this is stupid_// Bakura grumbled. //_Let me take over for a second Ryou, and I'll make sure he stays still_//

Ryou did not completely trust the tone of the spirits voice, but he relinquished his body anyway, knowing that he could take over again should Bakura do something stupid. Malik didn't have time to note the change before the Millennium Ring glowed and Bakura froze the blond in his tracks.

//_Now give it a go_// he urged, and Ryou found himself back in control, with a very put out looking Malik in front of him.

"Expelliarmus!"

Malik's wand went flying into the wall behind him. Malik found himself able to move again, and he glared at the Ring, hanging innocently around Ryou's neck.

"No fair Bakura!" he whined in Japanese. Harry congratulated Ryou before moving on to Yugi and his partner. The girl, who's name Yugi had discovered was Izzy, was brandishing her wand furiously at him, trying to get the spell to work. Harry corrected her pronunciation of the spell, before letting her try again. This time the spell did work, but instead of hitting Yugi's wand, it hit the Puzzle instead, causing the artefact to slam into Yugi's forehead. Yugi fell on his backside, stars twinkling in front of his face.

"Good, just work on your aim," Harry told Izzy, before going to help Yugi up. "You okay Yugi?"

"Yeah…think I'm gonna have a dent in my forehead though," Yugi said, still rubbing the red mark on his skin.

//_Aibou are you sure you're okay?_// Yami fretted. //_Do you want me to take over?_//

/_Just a knock Other Me, I'll be fine_/ Yugi assured him, before giggling. /_Guess we've learned something today. If we get disarmed we can take the Puzzle off and beat people over the head with it_/

//_Just don't shatter it_// Yami said, remembering the occasion in the warehouse when the Puzzle had been smashed, and Yugi had been forced to reassemble it in the middle of a fire.

Half an hour into practise, after Yugi had finally got the hang of disarming, Yami took over for his go. By now they had swapped partners, a few times, and Yami was left facing Ryou, while Malik was just running around the room, disarming anyone who was unfortunate enough to come his way.

Ryou blinked when he realised that he was facing the Pharaoh, and not a second later, Bakura was standing in his place, a smirk on his face.

"So Pharaoh, come out to play at last?" he asked, tauntingly. Yami's eyes narrowed.

"Couldn't let you and Malik have all the fun."

/_Yami, don't cause a scene_/ Yugi warned.

//_Don't worry Yugi, we won't do anything permanently damaging_//

/_Yami!_/

//_Alright! I won't hurt him in the slightest_//

/_That's better_/

"Expelliarmus!" Yami cried. Bakura was ready. He leaped to his right and waved his own wand.

"Locomotor Mortis!"

Yami dodged the leg locker curse, almost running over a tiny second year boy over as he moved. Bakura growled in irritation, trying to hit the Pharaoh again. Yami fired off his own spell to counter it. From the sidelines, Malik had stopped to watch and was cheering at the fight going on before him.

"Now all I need is a coke and some popcorn," he said, before remembering what Ryou had said about the Room. He looked around hopefully, and his face fell when he saw no such thing.

"Not much of a room if I can't get a snack," he muttered, turning his attention back to the fight. His eyes went wide when he saw Bakura jump away and almost land on top of him.

"Watch it Tomb Robber!" he shouted, completely forgetting to shout in any language but English. "Don't squash the bystander!"

Bakura was no listening, as he tried once again to disarm Yami. His spell failed however and this time he did jump into Malik. Both hit the floor with a thud.

"Get the hell off of me you idiot!" Malik shouted. Bakura sat swiftly up, only to have his wand fly from his grasp and land in Yami's hand. The Pharaoh was smirking at the two.

"I win," he said, before adding smugly. "As always."

Bakura muttered some very unflattering things under his breath as he got up. Malik leaped to his feet and pulled out his own wand.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Bakura's arms and legs snapped to his sides and he crashed back onto the floor. Yami burst out laughing…at least until Malik turned around and glued his legs together with the leg locker curse.

"Malik!" Yami complained, lying on the floor in a very undignified position. Though Bakura could not speak through his frozen jaw, his eyes were laughing. The Tomb Keeper scowled at the King of Games.

"Well next time you feel like showing off, watch who you hurt accidentally! Same to you Bakura."

It was probably a good thing that Harry blew his whistle at this point to call the lesson to an end. Malik removed the curses and Yami and Bakura got to their feet scowling. Malik just smiled sweetly before turning to listen to Harry, who was encouraging everyone to keep practising during the week, before dismissing them all.

"Well that was fun!" Malik said cheerfully, as they followed Harry, Ron and Hermione out of the room. Yugi and Ryou, who had taken control again, scowled at their friend.

"What?" Malik asked, trying and failing to look innocent.

"You could have tried to stop them Malik," Yugi said reproachfully, in Japanese. "You know how they can get."

"You worry too much Yugi," Malik said, flippantly. "They just needed to blow off some steam. I stopped them when they started doing serious damage."

"Yeah, serious damage to you," Ryou pointed out.

"So did you guys have fun?" Hermione asked, breaking up the conversation. Yugi and Ryou pulled hasty smiles on to their faces.

"Yeah, it was great," Yugi said enthusiastically. "You're a really brilliant teacher Harry!"

Harry just shrugged. He hoped he was a good teacher. The question was, was he good enough? Seeing all the people in the room trying their best to perform the jinxes that may one day save their lives, had made him wonder if it would be enough when Death Eaters came to call. Especially in light of Voldemort's new weapon, which was now making the population fear not only for their lives, but for their souls too.

* * *

**A/N: **Before I forget, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has reviewed! You all rock! And cookies, frozen yoghurt and ramen to Isis the Sphinx for beta-ing my chapters.

Today is really special! It's been three years to the day, that I joined this website. Yay!

I checked my stats the other day so I could compare this story to Beginning of the End. It's a mark of just how awful my writing was back then, in that this story is only eight chapters so far and it's already over half the size (word count wise) of the first Beginning of the End story, which totalled thirty six chapters.

Though to be honest, I started Beginning of the End about two and a half years ago, and since then I've learned the definition and the wonders of _description._

Little explanation. The day after I posted the last chapter, my email spontaneously combusted (or something to that effect) and locked me out of all my messages. Its been sorted out, but it seems that all the messages I should have received in the week it took them to get it sorted, never arrived (and I know this for a fact, because I never received the carbon copy alert that fanfiction send out when I posted chapter 7). So basically, if anyone tried to email me, send me a private message, or respond to one of my reviews within the week after I posted my last chapter (the week proceeding Nov 2nd), I won't have received it.

Anyway, all that aside, I hope everyone enjoyed!

Reviews are like stars – they're very pretty…


	9. Chapter 9: The Pricklings of Darkness

**Disclaimer: **YuGiOh is copyrighted to Kazuki Takahashi. Harry Potter is copyrighted JK Rowling. As I am neither of these people, I own nothing.

**Chapter 9: The Pricklings of Darkness**

Joey Wheeler had had plenty of reputations in his life. Street punk, gang member, school bully, third best duellist in the world…For a long time he thought that the only person to know the real him was Serenity. Even Tristan, who had known him through school for years, did not know him as well as little sister. Then he met Yugi. The little shrimp who sat quietly in school and did nothing but play games, had stuck his neck out for him, in the face of Ushio, the schools biggest and meanest bully. The next day, Joey had approached Yugi with a riddle.

"I have a treasure too. Its something you can show, but can't see."

The future King of Games had been stuck, until Joey had smiled and told him.

"It's friendship."

Joey would openly admit, he had never felt so small and pathetic as he had when Yugi had jumped in to take the blow meant for him and Tristan. After all they had done to him, teasing him, stealing a piece of his Puzzle, Yugi was standing there, calling them his friends, and getting the shit beat out of him for daring to stand up for them. Yugi may never have his back in the same way that Tristan did, but Joey knew that Yugi, and later on Yami too, would jump in the way of any thug for his sake. And he knew he'd do the same for them both.

If he had to pick one person who knew him as well as his sister, it would be Yugi. So maybe it was Yugi's absence for the past month and a half that made Joey feel worried and on his guard constantly these days. He knew his best friend was safe, for he was sure he would have heard from Ryou or Malik if something had happened. But it didn't stop Joey from waking in the middle of the night from nightmares involving his friends being swallowed up by a familiar green light that they all knew and loathed.

It was days like today when Joey could just stop worrying and just enjoy himself. He had managed to escape the house early that morning without his father noticing. Serenity had come down to Domino to visit for the day, and Joey had loved every second so far. After years of separation, they both relished these times together. Battle City, despite all the insanity with Malik's psychotic alter ego, had been one of Joey's favourite events, purely because of all the time he got to spend with Serenity.

"Joey," Joey emerged from his thoughts to find his sister looking up at him with a sweet smile on her face. "Thanks for taking me out today. I've had so much fun."

"Nah, it was no problem sis," the blond replied, shaking his head. "I'm glad you had fun. Though maybe going to Kaibaland was not the best idea."

Serenity laughed. As soon as they had set foot in the Duel Monsters theme park, fans had surrounded Joey, asking for autographs, demanding to know if he was going to be at the Regionals in two months and challenging him to duels. No matter what Seto Kaiba may have thought, Joey did have his own fan base. Serenity, who never tired of seeing her big brother do what he did best, and who had recently picked up the game herself, had persuaded him to accept a few of the challenges. Joey had won with ease of course, but had then been swamped with more requests. Brother and sister had been forced to leave after an hour of being followed by persistent duellists.

As they passed by the Domino Museum, Joey felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He unconsciously gripped Serenity's hand tighter, and his eyes narrowed as he scanned the street cautiously. It was mid afternoon on a Sunday, so there were very few people around. The street was almost deserted.

Joey had learned to rely on his instincts during his years as part of Hirutani's gang. Being a duellist had only strengthened these instincts. He'd told Odion during their duel in Battle City that he always trusted what he felt in his gut. And right now, he didn't feel safe. He checked the street. There were two alleyways up ahead and another street to the immediate right, which led away from the train station, and back towards the busiest part of the city. There was safety in crowds, so Joey turned abruptly and led Serenity off down the street.

"Big brother?" Serenity asked, confused at Joey's silence and seriousness. "What's wrong?"

"Call it a feeling sis," Joey remarked in an undertone. "But I think we're being watched."

He strained his vision as they turned the corner, trying to catch any movement from the street they had just vacated. Sure enough, a figure cloaked in black appeared from one of the alleyways. Joey cursed under his breath.

"Joey?" Serenity asked, fear creeping into her voice.

"Just don't look round," the blond duellist said, scanning the street ahead. As far as he could tell, it was clear. Another jolt of danger pulsed through him, and he didn't need to look behind him to tell that there were more people. He could sense their presence. It was radiating off them in the same way that power radiated from Yami, or malevolence from Marik. Joey realised with a sick feeling, that he was sensing the Orichalcum around one of their necks.

"Serenity," he muttered. "On my mark run to the left. Don't look back. Don't say anything in English. Don't let go of my hand."

She was pale, but determined at the same time. Joey squeezed her hand, tensing every muscle in his body. He could hear their footsteps drawing closer and closer.

The Orichalcum, pulsed angrily, and Joey acted.

"Now!"

Both of them took off around the corner of the street, just as green light flared dramatically. Joey knew they had just escaped being encircled by the Seal by a few mere inches. There were angry shouts, and jets of light exploded behind them, one gouging a chunk out of the corner of one of the buildings.

Joey knew the area well. This was the side of town where all the big companies had their head offices. They were miles away from any of their friend's houses, which were on the outskirts of the city. And in any case, he would not lead any of these wizards to his friends. There was only one person they could really rely on to get them out of this mess alive.

Rounding another corner, Joey chanced a look behind him. He was surprised to see only two people chasing them. They were both hooded and masked but a faint glow was visible from the one on the left, indicating that he was the one carrying the Orichalcum. Joey frowned. He had been sure he'd heard more than two people following them…unless…they were preparing to spring a trap.

No way was he falling for that!

He dragged Serenity around another corner and ducked immediately into an alleyway. He pulled his sister behind one of the dumpsters and both of them crouched there, trying to stifle their heavy breathing. Joey could feel his sister shaking, and he squeezed her hand. His free hand felt for his deck. He knew he couldn't summon anything, after all he didn't hold an Item, but it gave him a small measure of comfort.

"It's gonna be okay sis."

"Who are they Joey?" Serenity asked, fearfully.

"Soul stealing jerks, that's who," he whispered back, watching as their two pursuers ran right past the ally. The deception wouldn't last long, especially if, as Joey predicted, they had sent the rest of their group to cut them off.

"C'mon," he said, tugging Serenity up and creeping to the end of the ally. The two robed figures had already left the street. Joey and Serenity hurried back the way they had come, before turning away toward the tallest skyscraper in the city, otherwise known as Kaiba Corp.

"As much as I hate Kaiba he's the only one that can help us now," Joey said. "We won't be able to outrun them for long if they find us."

"They look like Malik's Rare Hunters," Serenity said. "But I thought he had disbanded them?"

"He has," Joey said, checking the next street for any danger before they hurried toward the traffic lights. "They aren't Rare Hunters. They're called Death Eaters. We ran into them about a month ago. That's where Yugi, Ryou and Malik are right now. They're helping to fight them off."

"You never told me this," Serenity admonished.

"Sorry sis, we were told not to tell anyone. For your safety."

Serenity looked as though she wanted to say more, but no sooner had they crossed the traffic lights and started toward Kaiba Corp, when a series of cracks surrounded them, and the Death Eaters that they had left behind reappeared behind them. Joey swore. Obviously, they had expected them to go running to Kaiba.

"Move!" he shouted to Serenity. A jet of green light passed alarmingly close, and Joey felt his rage rise. How dare they try and lay a hand…err, wand on his sister! The spell slammed into a car instead, sending the vehicle flying through the street and into the window of another office block. Though there were few people out, those that were began screaming and running for their lives.

The glass doors of Kaiba Corp slid open and a dozen or so security guards raced into the street. Joey pulled his sister past them and into the ground floor lobby. He could hear gunshots behind him and flying spells shattered the doors and windows.

Kaiba himself came striding into view. Joey had to admit, no matter what the situation, Kaiba never failed to look completely in control. His white trench coat billowed out dramatically behind him, and his hands rested on his hips in a dominating pose. He looked furious at the Death Eaters, but upon seeing Joey and Serenity, exhausted and sweaty from running, he sneered instead.

"Should have guessed you had something to do with this Mutt."

"Kaiba, I am not in the mood!" Joey snapped, as a Killing Curse blew another window behind them apart. Seto's attention snapped back to the damage.

"Take the elevator to the twenty ninth floor. Mokuba's already up there."

Neither Wheeler needed telling twice. As Kaiba strode out to face their attackers, the elevator doors slid shut, taking Joey and Serenity upwards to safety.

"You okay sis?" Joey asked. He felt really really bad for dragging Serenity into this mess. He never wanted her to get hurt and he felt really stupid for taking her out when he knew that they were all in danger.

"Fine," she said, turning to look at him, a spark of anger present in her eye. "But why did you never tell me any of this big brother?"

"We promised not to tell anyone," Joey defended. "And I didn't want you to worry about me."

Serenity folded her arms and fixed her brother with a glare. "You know Tristan once said that to me during Battle City Joey. During your duel with Espa Roba, when you were losing, he told me that you were doing just fine. When I found out, I told him that I wanted to be told if you were in trouble. I don't need to be protected Joey. I'd much rather know what happens to you, then to be sheltered from the truth."

Joey looked at his shoes. He knew Serenity was right. If she were in trouble, he'd want to know about it. But on the other hand, he did not want her caught up in his troubles, and he certainly did not want her to get hurt.

The elevator bell chimed, and the doors slid open. Mokuba was perched on a vacant desk by the window, his nose pressed up against the glass, and his cell phone clutched in his hand. There was a green glow coming from the street, and Joey's heart sank. Someone had clearly played the Seal.

"Mokuba," Joey caught his attention. The raven-haired boy turned and heaved a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad you're both okay. I saw you come in through the front door just now."

He pulled up chairs for both of them. Serenity collapsed into one gratefully, but Joey hurried to the window and peered out at the scene below.

The street was a battle zone, with Kaiba's security on one side, and the Death Eaters on another. The Seal of Orichalcos had indeed been activated, scoring itself onto the ground. Joey had to admit, that the guards were doing a very good job of dodging the curses sent their way. He couldn't expect Kaiba to hire anyone but the best. However their numbers were dwindling slightly. Seto himself stood on the stairs, shouting orders to his remaining men.

"Big brother could sense someone using the Orichalcos, and then when the spells started flying in the street he ordered security to go help," Mokuba explained. "He didn't tell me how he was sensing it, and I decided not to ask…"

"You can feel the anger," Joey explained. "I could feel it too when they surrounded us. I guess since we wielded the dragons and we had so much contact with the Seal we've probably become extra sensitive to it."

His thoughts flashed instantly to Yugi. Yami had played the Seal in his duel against Raphael. How sensitive would he be to the presence of Orichalcum? Definitely far worse than either he or Kaiba were. He didn't think the Pharaoh would play the Seal again. He'd made that mistake before and he knew the spirit was wiser now. But it could still cause problems if the Death Eaters found their way to Hogwarts somehow.

There was a roar from the street, one that everyone recognised. Mokuba and Serenity raced to join Joey at the window. Clearly Seto had got fed up with the Death Eaters. White light surrounded the CEO before rising up to form the magnificent shape of the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Her scales shone in the late afternoon glow, and her piercing blue eyes were fixed below, in a stare that had caused grown duellists to shake in fear.

A second later, a White Lightning attack ripped down the street, shaking the foundations of the building. Mokuba could not help but gulp. The Kaiba Corp skyscraper was supposed to be able to withstand earthquakes of a magnitude of 7.5. So the young boy did not even want to think about how powerful the White Lightning attack must have been to cause tremors. It was safe to say that when the smoke cleared there were no Death Eaters left in sight. The Seal set about collecting the souls of the unconscious.

"Guess they're gone then," Joey muttered.

"Blue Eyes didn't kill them right?" Serenity asked, her hands over her mouth.

"Nah," Joey shook his head. "Not unless Kaiba was really mad. They're probably just unconscious. But the Seal will have their souls now. That was what happened during our fight in the park."

"The Seal…you mean that thing is taking their souls?" Serenity asked in horror, pointing at the one remaining beam of green light, which vanished in front of them.

"That's what it does," Mokuba nodded, looking sadly at the street, before slamming his fist into the reinforced glass angrily. Joey and Serenity jumped. They had never seen Mokuba react so violently before.

"Stupid Death Eaters…why do the lunatics always have to come after us?"

To that, neither siblings had the answer, and that was the sad reality of their situation. Always was the way that they had to face an enemy and put their lives in danger, when most of the time, all they wanted was some peace.

OOO

"…_Kaiba returned soon after the police arrived. They're telling everyone it was a minor earthquake. Not exactly difficult to believe unless you saw what really happened. Blue Eyes certainly made enough of a racket for people to believe that there was a quake going on._

_We stayed with the Kaiba's last night. I didn't want to send Serenity back on the train by herself and I sure as hell wasn't gonna bring her back home to my old man. Kaiba didn't want me to stay obviously, but Mokuba talked him into it. We called in sick at school and now we're trying to get some straight answers out of the Ministry. Serenity goes back later this evening and I'm going with her to give Ma the edited version of what's going on._

_Serenity made me tell her everything of course. It's probably safer for her to know, especially since those Death Eaters will have seen her with me now. I've told her to keep her deck on her at all times and I passed the advice on to the rest of the gang and to Gramps. At least if these guys start duelling opponents, they'll be able to defend themselves._

_The bloke from the Japanese Ministry is giving me dirty looks now, so I'll have to wrap this letter up quick guys. But stay safe, and write back soon. And watch your backs. If they're after me, odds are they'll try and target you guys next._

_Serenity sends her love, and Mokuba says hi. Kaiba's just grunted at me, which I take to mean he says hi too._

_All the best_

_Joey."_

The letter had arrived a week after the attack, care of an owl provided by the Japanese Ministry of Magic. Dumbledore had informed Yugi, Ryou and Malik as soon as he had received word, but he had withheld most of the details, thinking that they would rather hear the full story from Joey. True Yugi had almost fainted upon reading the full extent of the attack. The students around them were chatting happily about the Hogsmeade trip in a few weeks, not worrying in the slightest about the horror that the transfers were currently feeling over this latest development.

"They'll be alright Yugi," Ryou had tried to assure him after reading the letter for himself. "Joey's smart and he knows how to handle himself. And he's told everyone, including your Grandfather to keep their decks on them at all times. They won't be defenceless if they're attacked again."

But Yugi just placed the letter down on the table and pushed away his breakfast with a blank look on his face.

"What the hell are you looking at?!" Malik snapped at a nosy looking first year. He pulled out his wand and said casually, "Oculus crucicus."

Hermione shot him a reprimanding look, as the first year wandered out of the Great Hall, his eyes stuck uncomfortably due to the eye-crossing curse that Malik had placed on him. Harry was studying the abandoned letter over Yugi's shoulder, wishing not for the first time that term that he could read kanji. The three understood the basics of what had happened. They knew that Joey Wheeler and his sister had been attacked by Death Eaters but that they had got away unharmed. They knew the Orichalcos had been involved, but the transfers had refrained from mentioning it too much. They could also see that Yugi was taking it the worst out of the three of them.

//_Aibou_// Yugi sighed and found himself sitting in his soul room. The toys were scattered about his room in a disorganised fashion, indicating the panic and frustration that he felt. The light, which usually radiated cheerfully from every wall, seemed dimmer and subdue. Yami stood at the door, his stance tense and concern etched into his face.

"It will be alright Yugi. Joey is one of the most capable people we both know. He and Kaiba will protect everyone."

Deep in the back of his mind though, Yami was worried too. He knew that by entering this world they were putting everyone they knew and cared about in danger, but it was only just hitting he and Yugi just how dangerous it really was. Joey and Serenity had almost been sealed, and the fight had been so intense that Kaiba had been forced to summon of his own will. Just how many close calls could they survive before the darkness caught up with them?

Yugi's eyes were wide and shiny, and he jumped to his feet, ran to the startled Yami and hugged him tightly.

"You're worried too Other Me," the shorter accused. "I can see it. You can't hide anything from me remember?"

Yami sighed. He knew hiding his thoughts from Yugi was impossible. He could not tell Yugi that everything would be all right if he was worried about exactly the same thing. So he resolved instead to calm his hikari down.

"I am worried Aibou. I'm worried for all their safety. But we know that they can look after themselves, and we know that they will look out for each other. We have to believe in them, just as they believe in us."

Yugi nodded faintly, knowing his darker had given him this advice on more than one occasion. He knew his friends always had faith in him. They had believed that he could rescue his Grandpa from Pegasus, they had believed that he would beat Marik, in fact, during every one of Yugi's battles, his friends had always believed in him. So he couldn't start thinking that they were a lost cause. He had to believe that if they did get into trouble then they would be able to get out of it unharmed.

Both yami and hikari could hear Ryou's voice from a long way away. Yugi knew he would have to leave and return to his body before the others noticed his absence. Before leaving, he looked up at his darker and gave him a reassured smile.

"Thanks Yami. You're right. They've never given up on us, so we shouldn't give up on them."

"That is all we can do," Yami agreed. "Now you'd better get back to breakfast before the others notice."

Yugi nodded before heading back to his soul room. Yami retreated to his own, to wander the labyrinth of his mind and to think about the attack in more detail, more specifically, on Joey's information about sensing the Orichalcos. He was curious about what his friend had said about picking up the energy from the Orichalcum and he was wondering whether he would have an opportunity to test this theory any time soon.

OOO

The long skeletal fingers caressed the snake. The Orichalcum flashed in the torchlight as the bearer's anger at the cowering figure before him spiked. He calmed himself. He did not want to inadvertently seal the man. He still needed him…for now anyway.

"So explain to me again Rudolphus, why you have failed to bring me Seto Kaiba?"

The man twitched in fear as he spoke.

"My Lord…we did as instructed. We approached the mansion with the intention of entering through the windows on the upper floor. But as soon as we reached the front gates we were…ambushed."

"By whom?" the Dark Lord asked lazily. He had heard this story already, but he knew that the constant retelling was making the man sweat in fear.

"Kaiba's companion my Lord," Rudolphus stuttered. "The white dragon with blue eyes…"

"I don't care about the colour of the dragons eyes you fool," Voldemort sighed. "What I care about is these monster, these apparitions that follow these people around. Angus and Raquel assured me that the monsters were not real, merely muggle illusions. So why are these ones apparently more than just illusions, and why do they only answer to the chosen duellists?"

He leaned back in his chair, deep in thought.

"It must be some kind of power that they possess. According to the visions from the Orichalcos, these three were the three duellists to wield the Legendary Dragons. But then what of the other two under Dumbledore's protection? What magic do they possess that makes them so special…?"

He trailed off thinking to himself. Rudolphus just knelt on the floor, feeling the tense gaze of the other Death Eaters on his back. He knew he had become a broken man in the last few weeks, especially in light of his wife being taken off to St Mungo's in what was apparently an as of yet irreversible coma. Rudolphus of course knew better. He knew the Orichalcos had taken Bella's soul. The sad fact of the matter was that he knew she would have been quite willing to give it up by her own choice if it meant helping her lord and master. He'd always been more important to her than her husband.

Voldemort seemed to come out of his musings, and without another word, he raised his wand and muttered, "Crucio." Rudolphus's screams echoed around the abandoned house, until eventually Voldemort stopped and the man was left twitching on the floor again.

"Don't fail me again Rudolphus, or I shall send you to join your beloved wife."

The man bowed and muttered his thanks before shuffling back into line, still twitching occasionally. Voldemort snapped his fingers.

"Severus."

"My Lord?" the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher stepped forwards.

"Call in Angus. We shall have to challenge these people in a way they cannot refuse. I shall have him step up practises and find some new recruits. The Japanese Regional Championships should be useful to us."

Snape bowed before leaving the room. Voldemort's scarlet eyes came to rest on another Death Eater.

"Lucius. I have a task for you. A way of redeeming yourself after your abysmal failure at the Department of Mysteries last June."

The blond Death Eater stepped forward and bowed.

"Anything my Lord."

"Your son Draco is currently at Hogwarts, in the same year as the transfers, is he not?"

"Yes my Lord."

" I have…shall we say, a gift that I wish you to pass on to Draco…"

OOO

Halloween dawned, chilly and foggy, bringing the mood of the spookiest day of the year upon the castle with extreme ferocity. The students inside however, were oblivious to this little fact, everyone of the third year and above worrying more about what they were going to do in Hogsmeade that day.

Yugi, Ryou and Malik, having never seen the magical village before, were extremely enthusiastic about the trip, however they had originally had an ulterior motive for wanting to get away from the castle. A motive that Hermione had quickly squashed upon discovering it.

"The duel disks won't work in Hogsmeade either," she had informed them in exasperation, as though she could not understand why they would want to use them so badly. Yugi and Malik had groaned aloud, while Ryou was a lot quieter about his disappointment.

"Why?" Malik whined. "You said that people can apperate into the village…?"

"Yes they can, but just because people can do some things in Hogsmeade that they can't at Hogwarts does not mean that electronics will work," Hermione had told them. "Hogwarts, Diagon Ally, Hogsmeade...they're all too magically concentrated to allow electronics to work."

So this plan now crushed beneath their feet, the transfers were back to square one. And as they set off that morning towards the village, Malik was shooting off various ideas on how to get around the castles jinxes.

"We could put a bubblehead charm around the duel disks? It might seal off all the magic around them."

"That would probably make them worse!" Yugi said. "Besides, none of us can do a bubblehead charm, and the idea behind it is all wrong for what we want. We want a magic free environment, not fresh air."

Malik huffed and looked thoughtful again.

"How about the Room of Requirement? Could it take the shape of a non magic room?"

"It'd be a bit difficult for a room that was _created_ and _runs_ off magic to take the shape of a room with none of it," Harry pointed out with a raised eyebrow. Malik sighed again. He seemed to become more disheartened each time his ideas were shot down, and more excited when he thought of a new one.

"Oooh I know!" the Tomb Keeper said eagerly. "What about asking the room for a duelling stadium?"

"Already tried it," Yugi said briefly. "It didn't work. The room doesn't supply anything that runs off electricity. The same way it doesn't seem to supply food."

It had actually been Yami's idea to try the room one weekend and both had been distinctly upset when it had not worked.

Malik's cursing was cut off as Ron pointed out that they were getting closer to the village. The tiny streets were already filled with students, going to and from the shops; their arms piled high with purchases.

"Where do you want to go first?" Harry asked. Yugi's eyes passed over the buildings, and the signposts that pointed to even more shops.

"It all looks so cool!" Yugi said enthusiastically.

"Sweetshop!" Malik squeaked suddenly, and he disappeared so quickly that he seemed nothing more than a golden blur.

"Malik!" Ryou called through the crowd. "We should really stick together!"

"Guess we're going to Honeydukes then," Ron said, with a raised eyebrow at the spot that Malik had been standing not five seconds ago. Grumbling about their friend's lack of self-control, the five followed him into the crowded store.

Upon entering, Yugi and Ryou could see how Malik's attention had been caught so quickly. The shelves were overflowing with treats. Yugi repressed a snigger as he imagined how Joey would react to being here. Thinking of his friends made him decide that he should send them all gifts, so he began looking over the shelves at the different kinds of chocolate. Ryou was looking at the coconut ice in interest, and Malik was bouncing around the 'unusual tastes' section of the shop.

Half an hour later, everyone left with their pockets full of sweets. Yugi was happily sucking on a Sugar Quill, while Ryou was sampling Honeydukes cream filled chocolates. Malik, whom they had forcibly had to drag from the shop, was popping Fizzing Whizzbees into his mouth with careless abandon.

//_Ryou! Let me come out for a bit! I want my blood pops!_//

Ryou might have laughed at the childish tone to his yami's voice, had the others bloodthirsty nature not just been waved in his face in the form of the lollypops he had been forced to buy.

/_You can have them later. Let me finish my chocolates first_/

//_You're such a girl sometimes hikari_// Bakura said, sensing the disgust that his other felt at the thought of the blood-flavoured sweets. Ryou ignored the jibe and followed his friends up the street. They were disappointed to see that Zonkos was boarded up and had seemingly been abandoned.

"Its just like at Diagon Ally," Yugi said, as they carried on into Dervish and Banges. "Some of the shops were boarded up there too."

"People keep getting dragged off by Death Eaters," Harry summarised.

"Or they're selling up because they're afraid of what will happen," Malik said, popping a piece of Droobles Best Blowing Gum into his mouth.

"It's true though," Hermione said. "Now that Voldemort has this Orichalcos magic on his side people are more afraid than ever. No one knows what happens to the souls after they're taken, which is only making things worse."

Her words sparked a thought in Yugi's mind. What were the souls being used for? They had all been so preoccupied with moving to Hogwarts and evading the Orichalcos that he had not stopped to wonder what Voldemort was actually doing with it. He had to need the souls for some reason. Dartz had been using them to revive the Great Leviathan, but that creature was no more. So what could Voldemort want with human souls?

//_I've been wondering that too_// Yami admitted. //_It cannot just be a case of Voldemort wanting a new weapon to inspire terror. If all he wanted to do was take peoples souls to scare people he would be using Dementors. The Orichalcos takes souls for a purpose_//

/_We just have no idea what this purpose is_/ Yugi summarised. /_With Dartz he wanted to use the souls as energy for the Leviathan. But now…_/

//_The Leviathan is gone Yugi_// Yami assured his partner. He had sensed the unanswered question in Yugi's mind, and he wrapped his other's mind with reassurance. //_No beast could survive the wrath of the three Egyptian Gods, especially when they were all fuelled with the strength of the captured souls. No, Voldemort must have a different reason for wanting the souls…_//

"Yugi? Mothership calling Yugi? Do you copy?"

"Huh?" Yugi snapped out of his daze at Malik's voice. He had not realised that they had left Dervish and Banges, and that they were now walking towards the Three Broomsticks. Apparently Ron had been talking to him and he had not answered.

"Sorry did you say something?"

"Yeah just wondering if you were okay?" Ron asked.

"You've been quiet ever since we entered Dervish and Banges," Harry added.

"Just spaced out for a bit," Yugi waved it aside airily. "Nothing to worry about."

"You need to be careful Yugi," Ryou cautioned in Japanese. "You'll get them suspicious."

"How do you manage with Bakura?" Yugi asked his friend. Ryou just shrugged.

"We don't really speak as often as you and the Pharaoh do."

He trailed off and went back to his chocolates. Yugi felt a jolt of empathy for his friend. Everyone's negative thoughts were stopped however as the bubble Malik had been blowing exploded in his face.

The Three Broomsticks was packed with students all seeking a lunchtime retreat. After flipping several coins and having a few rounds of 'who-can-draw-the-more-powerful-duel-monster' Malik wound up buying the first round of drinks. Now that the Egyptian had no sweets to distract him any longer (for he had eaten all his purchases) the conversation had gone back to the duel disks.

"So there's no part of the castle that falls under the 'no-electricity' rule?" he asked for the millionth time.

"No," Hermione said. "It's not a question of it being a rule. It's the fact that there's too much magic in the castle. It swamps the machines and they just can't function."

"So if we can't use them in the castle then we'd have to leave the grounds," Malik said. "How far away would we have to get from the castle to allow them to work?"

"Too far," Harry said. "You'd have to walk for at least a full day for them to work."

"I think we're going about this the wrong way," Ryou said casually. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise. Out of the three duellists, he had shown the least interest in the conversation so far.

"Okay, enlighten us oh wise one," Malik said dryly. "How are we going about this the wrong way?"

"Well," Ryou said, sipping his butterbeer thoughtfully. "You keep trying to find a way around the magic in the castle, when it makes more sense to focus on the duel disks themselves."

Seeing everyone's uncomprehending looks, he sighed. "What if you take out everything that makes the duel disks electronic and replace it with magic? Then it would work."

"There's no magic that would be able to do that," Hermione said instantly. "It would work in theory, but in practise it's impossible."

"Why?" Malik asked, annoyed that now they had found a solution which sounded like it had a good chance of succeeding, Hermione was shooting it down again. "It's brilliant! We'd just have to replace the projectors with a spell that creates magical images of the cards instead. It could work!"

"Yes but if you're taking out everything that makes the disks electronic, then that includes taking out its battery, or power source," Hermione reminded them. "You'd need a magical source of energy for them to run on. And we have nothing powerful enough to generate magic for something as complex as a duel disk."

Everyone fell silent again, until…

"Yes we do," Ryou said suddenly, now sounding almost as excited as Malik did.

"We do?" Yugi asked cluelessly.

"Yes! Where does our magic come from?" Ryou asked, making sure to switch to Japanese so that only his friends could understand him. "What provides our magical energy?"

Yugi and Malik's eyes widened.

"The Millennium Items?!" Yugi said. "You think we can run the duel disks on Shadow Magic?"

"It worked for the Egyptians didn't it?" Ryou pointed out.

"Hold on," Yami said, taking over so he could voice his own opinion. "We need to be careful about this. We don't want to inadvertently call a Shadow Game each time we use the duel disks."

Ryou felt a mental poke from Bakura and he let his other half out to speak.

"We shouldn't have to," Bakura said. "If we can summon monsters without calling a Shadow Game, we should be able to use the same magic on the duel disks."

"Erm guys…" Harry said. He was starting to feel a little put out by the way they had abruptly been cut from the conversation. The transfers turned to look at him. "Mind filling in the people that don't speak Japanese?"

"Sorry," Malik said, but he sounded too enthusiastic to be sincere in his apology. "We have a way around the energy problem, so unless there's any other problems, we can start trying to replace the electronics in the duel disks. We'll be duelling for real by the end of November!"

"All this effort just to play a card game?" Hermione asked. "It's almost as bad as the effort that goes into Quidditch."

The five boys looked at her wearily.

"Hermione…you just don't understand," Malik summed up finally.

OOO

"Hey Ryou," Malik said, a sly grin on his face. "Catch!"

He broke off a piece of what had to be his fifth chocolate bar that afternoon and threw it to his friend. They had revisited Honeydukes four times, as Malik kept eating his way through his purchases. Now as the group made their way to dinner, Malik still had most of his chocolate in his pockets, with the intention of eating it after the meal…an intention that was fast flying out of the nearest window.

"Shouldn't you be saving that?" Yugi asked, as Ryou caught the chocolate happily. "We don't want to have to go back to Hogsmeade just so you can buy more again."

Malik said something to the effect that he wouldn't eat all this as they were about to have dinner, but because of the chocolate occupying his mouth his answer came out muffled. A few first years they passed in the corridor shot them disgusted looks.

"I've never met anyone who can eat that much chocolate without being ill," Hermione said, sounding half impressed and half revolted.

"I'm brilliant!" Malik said, bowing, but once again, only chocolate smothered muttering was audible. Ron raised an eyebrow and leaned towards Hermione.

"Still think I have the worst manners in the world?"

"Not anymore," Hermione agreed shaking her head. Clearly though Malik was not hard of hearing as he turned to glare at them both. Ryou leaned over to Yugi and muttered in Japanese to his short friend.

"I don't know how they'd react if they ever saw Bakura eating."

//_Oi! What about you landlord? I seem to recall Malik mentioned something to me about ripping your food apart after Battle City?_//

To all those watching, Ryou seemed to scowl at the suit of armour.

/_You'd been in control of my body for about a month that time. And it wasn't like you stopped frequently to eat_/

In his soul room, Bakura rolled his eyes.

//_You need to toughen up hikari. I lasted weeks without food in Egypt_//

Ryou had no answer to that, so he just didn't reply.

At this point, Draco Malfoy rounded the corner ahead, surprisingly enough, on his own. Everyone had to blink for a second, for it was so unusual to see him without either Crabbe or Goyle. Strangely he looked a lot smaller without them flanking him. His windswept hair, the envelope in his hand and the direction from which he was walking, indicated that he had just come from the owlery. He jumped at the sight of people, but his face warped into a malicious sneer when he recognised who it was.

"You three still here? I'm surprised they haven't packed you off back to Japan. How are your dear mudblood families? Surviving all the recent attacks?"

Bakura and Yami bristled as they took over. Malik just folded his arms and tried to look uncaringly at the person in front of him, but an angry glint in his eye told everyone just how the Egyptian was really feeling.

"Malfoy I was in a very good mood until about five seconds ago when you appeared. So why don't you just leave? You're disturbing the tranquillity."

Malfoy snorted. "That was literate for someone who has to use a language patch to speak properly. Did it hurt you to think of that?"

Malik growled at the slur on his intelligence. No one called him dumb! Sure he hadn't had formal schooling up until last year, but he was by no means stupid! Behind him, Hermione was hissing warnings to Ron, who was pulling his wand out of his pocket.

"Malfoy we don't want to talk to you and we're pretty sure you don't want to talk to us," Harry stepped in, his own wand drawn. "So why don't you just get the hell out of here?"

"Why should I listen to you Potty?" Malfoy asked, arms crossed. "It doesn't seem to do anyone any good. Your little mudblood friends listened to you last year and you dragged them all to the Department of Mysteries did you not? Nearly got them all killed if I remember correctly…"

Bakura and Malik had to grab both of Harry's arms to stop him from jumping the boy before them. Bakura turned, his head toward Malfoy, his crimson eyes flashing.

"Watch it boy," he hissed. "Our patience has limits."

"You don't scare me," Malfoy said, a defiant flint appearing in his eyes. "You could never hope to match me in a fight. You've only just past first year standard. I'll bet the only reason Dumbledore let you in was because no other school would take you. Your magic is pathetic!"

Surprisingly it was not Bakura or even Malik who punched Malfoy in the nose. Bakura drew his knife, and Malik was about to pull out the Rod, but it was Yami who got there first. The Pharaoh was fuming as the pale blond teenager landed on his ass, his wand and envelope skidding across the ground. Yami didn't care that his friends were now trying to hold him back. He could only focus on the object of his rage. A surge of anger pulsed through him.

"You know nothing of our power Malfoy and you would be foolish to think that you do!"

/_Pharaoh stop!_/ Yami froze as he felt Bakura and Malik grab him around the waist and arms, but they were not the reason for his cease. Yugi appeared in front of him in spirit form, eyes shining with tears.

//_Aibou?_//

/_Why did you have to resort to fighting?_/ the smaller demanded. /_You should have just ignored him!_/

//_He insulted our magic! He insulted the Items, us and everyone who was ever connected to them!_//

Yugi's face shifted to a frown, and a second later, Yami found himself back in his soul room. The haze of anger lifted. Yugi had clearly taken control back. His thoughts however had not left.

/_If you have to resort to violence in order to solve your problems then you're no better than Malfoy is!_/

The bottom dropped out of the Pharaoh's stomach. Yugi was very angry with him. He didn't think his partner had ever been this mad. He could feel it coming off his other in waves.

//_Aibou…_// the apology died on his lips. Yugi had blocked his thoughts off. There would be no reasoning with him for a while.

Meanwhile, Bakura and Malik watched as all the fight seemed to drain out of the Pharaoh and he seemed to sag in their arms. The two exchanged worried looks, before the spiky head perked back up. Except this time it was Yugi in control. He shook his friends off.

"Let go guys, I'm fine," he muttered in subdue Japanese. In truth, he was reeling. He hadn't meant to be so cold with his other self, but right now he was too angry with him to care. At his command Bakura let go hastily, but Malik kept a hand on his shoulder just in case.

"Get out of our sight!" Bakura all but screamed at Malfoy. He was also angry at the slur the Slytherin had cast on the Items, for it was his village that had been slaughtered to create them, and it had been he who lost everything to this magic. He looked so deadly, clutching a knife, his eyes swirling with bloodlust that Malfoy found himself scrambling to get away.

"It's alright Yugi, he's gone now," Malik said, watching as Bakura replaced his knife in his pocket. Yugi snatched his shoulder out of Malik's grasp.

"I said I was fine Malik! You didn't need to hold on to me!"

And he stormed off to dinner, hands in the pockets of his jacket.

OOO

Harry watched the whole scene, anger pulsing through him like a heartbeat, only to be replaced by confusion and distrust as Yugi stormed away angrily.

He had never seen the transfers so mad before. The look on Ryou's face had been venomous enough to wither the strongest tree. And for Yugi to hit someone was unheard of. And there had been a look to all their eyes that had been mad and scary, as though they had been infused with rage.

Harry was fuming too. Malfoy's attack on the events last June had made him feel angry and sick at the same time. He was mad that Malfoy even had the nerve to suggest that it had been his fault, and at the same time, he felt horrible guilt and uncertainty that he hadn't felt since the summer was over him. Was he responsible? Malfoy certainly seemed to think so. His friends had listened to him, and he had led them into danger…danger that had led to Sirius being killed…

He shook his thoughts off. He could not afford to think like that. He should save his anger for Malfoy, resolving instead to take it out on him during the Quidditch match in three weeks time.

He looked at the two remaining transfers. Malik was chewing his lip and Ryou was still scowling at the spot that Yugi had been standing.

"Erm guys…" Hermione tried timidly. She was clearly worried that they were going to blow up at her. "Will Yugi be okay?"

The murderous look in Ryou's eyes seemed to fade and he looked up at them. His eyes were shining with worry, but he covered it up quickly.

"He'll be fine," he assured them. "He just needs some time alone."

Malik muttered something in Japanese before suggesting that they should follow Yugi down to dinner. As they walked, everyone still shaken from the encounter, Ryou and Malik began talking in hushed tones, which only proceeded to irritate Harry. Weren't they all supposed to be friends? Why on Earth did they find it necessary to start talking in a language they could not understand? What secrets did they not want them to know?

Ron just muttered nervously to his two best friends.

"I had no idea that Ryou carried a knife with him."

OOO

Yugi was moody all through dinner. He did not even look up to acknowledge the amazing decorations that were littered around the hall in light of Halloween. He didn't speak to anyone, instead taking his anger and frustration out on his food and eventually lapsing into miserable glaring contests with his goblet and random pumpkins around the room. Ron had attempted to cheer him up, telling him that Malfoy was a git and he deserved it, but this only proceeded to make the duellist even unhappier. Eventually he headed back upstairs so dejected, that you could almost see the black rain cloud over his head.

It was only later when the rest of the boys were coming up to bed and Yugi had lay shut behind his curtains for almost five hours that he finally decided he had been mad long enough. Being upset with Yami really really hurt him. The spirit was his friend, and in many ways, like a brother to him. Shutting him off made the younger feel empty and hollow, indeed as if a part of him were missing.

So, head hung, Yugi left his soul room and knocked on the doorway to the labyrinth that was his other self's mind. To his surprise there was no reply. Yugi was hurt for a second, thinking that Yami did not want to speak to him, before he realised that the door was unlocked. Feeling determined not to spend the night in miserable mood; Yugi pushed the door open and entered the soul room.

To his relief, he found Yami fast asleep in a corner of the labyrinth. The Pharaoh was slumped against a wall, with his legs stretched out before him, his head resting in the corner. His chin was resting on his chest, which rose and fell slowly, indicating that he was completely dead to anything short of an earthquake. Yugi suppressed a giggle. It was not exactly the most dignified position he had ever seen the Pharaoh in.

He turned to leave, but apparently his presence had been felt, as Yami jumped awake in an instant. Yugi was so startled that he stumbled and fell backwards with a loud thud. Yami's eyes widened as they settled on the dazed form of his hikari.

"Aibou? Are you alright?"

He hurried over to Yugi and helped the shorter sit upright. Yugi shook his head and smiled.

"I'm fine Other Me. You just startled me that's all."

"I'm sorry." The Pharaoh hung his head, and Yugi knew he was not just apologising for making him fall.

"No I'm sorry Yami. I shouldn't have gotten angry with you. I forgot you had every right to be mad at Malfoy for what he said." Yugi was shaking his head sadly. Yami sighed.

"I'm sorry too Aibou. I should not have let him goad me like that. But to listen to him slurring the magic that is the reason for my existence in this world is…"

"Painful?" Yugi provided. "I know, and I'm sorry I got mad at you for it. I just wish it didn't have to come down to fists. You know I hate fighting."

"I do know Yugi," Yami assured him, feeling a wave of guilt wash over him. Yugi clearly felt it too, as he looked sadly at him. "I know you hate fights. That's the whole reason I am here. I'm supposed to protect you. I just got so angry with him I couldn't stop myself…"

Yugi frowned. It was unlike Yami to lose control. He had one of the most controlling and commanding presences he knew. When duelling, if the duel wasn't going his way, Yami always made sure he turned the tables quickly and bought control back to him. To lose himself over one comment, despite how serious it may have been, was unusual.

"Must have been stress," Yugi mused. "With everything that's been going on lately, it's not really surprising that we both blew up eventually."

Yami nodded, as Yugi stifled a yawn. The Pharaoh gave him a shrewd smile.

"You're tired Aibou. You should go get some sleep."

Yugi nodded sleepily, before giving his yami another hug around the waist. Yami, who knew Yugi was not normally this affectionate, hugged him back, knowing that both of them needed reassurance that everything would now be okay.

OOO

It was about half an hour before midnight when Ryou finally made his way up to the dormitories. He had wanted to stay up and work on their second year assignments, which had been handed out at the beginning of the week in light of the first year deadline. He and Malik had decided to give Yugi some space, so Malik had vanished to write and send a letter to Ishizu and Odion. From the snoring, and the vague lump behind the curtains however, Ryou guessed that his friend had already dropped off to sleep. Yugi was also dead to the world, a peaceful smile on his face. Ryou relaxed. Yugi and the Pharaoh must be speaking to each other again.

Ryou silently put his books away in his trunk, not making a single noise as he pulled out his pyjamas. He glanced out of the tower window and shivered. Not only was it Halloween, but also there was a full moon out that night. Supposedly the evening when magic was at its strongest. Ryou slipped onto his bed and drew the curtains, so quietly that he was almost unnerved by it.

_Like a ghost_ he mused bitterly, remembering his nickname for most of his Primary school years. His hair and skin had taken most of the credit for that. Even in Britain, white hair and snowy skin was hard to find. Then when his interest in the occult had been exposed to the class it had only got worse. Suddenly he wasn't just the white kid. He was the white kid whom the smaller kids shied away from in fear. He was the one whom the older boys pushed around, kicking him in the dirt, staining his pale body, all the while taunting him, daring him to cast a spell on them like he spirit he was.

That lasted until the Ring arrived.

//_Reminiscing hikari_?// Bakura asked. Ryou jumped before sending a mental scowl in Bakura's direction. He was irritated that his other had been eavesdropping, and in any case, he really did not want to talk now.

He had work to do.

He had been paying attention in Divination on Thursday morning, and right from the start he had been feeling something dark, like a little wisp of shadow in the air. When the people on the tables around him had started their readings, he had noticed a lot of negative feelings coming from the predictions. His own foreboding had increased when he had read his own cards. Something bad was coming to Hogwarts. Now he wanted to be sure.

He cleared his bed, and pulled out his duelling deck, shuffling the cards, letting the questions he wanted answered fill his mind. He had debated most of the evening about which cards to use, before deciding that his duelling deck would be a better choice. Since most of his worries centred on the Orichalcos, and the Dominion of the Beasts was intimately connected to it, he guessed that the monsters would provide a better, more accurate answer.

He lay out seven cards, six of them forming the points of a six pointed star, and the seventh, resting in the middle. He placed the rest of the deck aside before drawing a deep breath, easing the tension out of his body, and clearing his mind of all but the question. Yet even before he touched the cards he could tell that the reading was not going to be a happy one.

The first card, the one forming the top point of the star, was flipped. It was Ectoplasmer, the card that extracted the very soul of a monster and inflicted direct damage to the opponent. This card was supposed to represent the nature of the problem. That could not have been clearer. The problem was the people losing their souls, and the damage it was doing to the wizarding world. In short, it pointed to the Orichalcos.

The second card, on the lower left side of the star, was flipped over next. This was supposed to represent what influenced the problem in a positive way. Ryou looked at the Polymerization card before him. Bonding together was the message. Ryou thought of his friends. Was this what the cards were referring to? That bonding together was the only way to survive this?

He moved on to the card on the lower right side of the star, the card that was supposed to be the opposite – the negative influences - events that made the problem worse. He winced as he flipped it. He didn't have to read too deeply to understand this one. The Gross Ghost of Fled dreams could mean nightmares, or more specifically to fear. Generally, when humans feared something, they worried about it and inevitably had nightmares about it. The Gross Ghost meant that the fear that the wizarding community had of Voldemort was helping him get what he wanted.

The fourth card was on the upper left side of the star. Ryou flipped it, feeling the unease in his stomach. This would tell him the past. Jowgen the Spiritualist appeared, but upside down. Ryou frowned. Jowgen represented control and knowledge of spiritual affairs. In the same way his special ability prevented Special Summons, this card represented control of the boundary between life and death. Reversed, Ryou took this to mean that that control had splintered in the past, which he knew for a fact. Uncontrolled magic had been what had destroyed Atlantis after all.

Card number five was at the bottom most point of the star, and represented the present. Dark Necrofear appeared. Ryou gulped. This connected to the reading for the past. While Jowgen implied control over spiritual matters, Dark Necrofear implied control over people, just like her special ability allowed her to take control of an enemy monster. Considering the subject of the reading, Ryou guessed it was saying that the Orichalcos had control over a person. Ryou thought again over Dark Necrofear's secondary effect, as the monster that could unleash Dark Sanctuary. Was the person being controlled represented by the darkness of Dark Sanctuary? A second later he had his answer. The darkness must refer to Voldemort.

Ryou frowned at the card, a thought suddenly occurring to him. Was it possible that the Orichalcos was controlling Voldemort? He remembered Yugi mentioning that the Orichalcos had controlled Dartz when he had tried to revive the Leviathan. Was it possible that the Orichalcos had manipulated Voldemort too? If so, that could make this all the more dangerous. Not only would they have Voldemort's intentions to worry about, but they would have the Orichalcos's intentions to worry over too.

He shook his head to clear the thoughts. He still had two more cards, possibly the ones with the most impact. He flipped number six, on the top right hand side, and chewed his lip. Destiny Board stared back at him. So the future was in the hands of destiny. Oh joy.

His hands rested over the seventh card, which lay in the middle of the star. The final card dictated the final judgement, the event which would dictate the events of the subject. In this case, the event which would ultimately decide whether Voldemort and the Orichalcos succeeded, or whether they failed.

He turned the card over.

Dark Sanctuary. A hole in the fabric of reality itself, a place where only spirits dared to tread. The final judgement would be a test of darkness. Ryou could just see it. A clash of Shadow magic, Wizarding magic and the Orichalcos. He shuddered.

"A dark reading indeed," Bakura mused. Ryou jumped again. He had not noticed his yami had appeared in spirit form. He sat on the bed beside Ryou, looking at the cards with a troubled expression on his face.

"I've been feeling it for a few days," Ryou admitted. "But after the…encounter with Malfoy today I thought I'd better have a look. It's only got worse since then."

"Increased sense of foreboding," the thief replied. "I felt it too. It's like a tiny shift in the magic, like a warning."

He looked down again at the tarot spread, before nodding in approval.

"We'd better pass this on to the others," he said. "Especially the present reading. We never considered that the Orichalcos might be controlling Voldemort. And your readings are normally fairly accurate."

It was probably the closest thing to a compliment he had ever received from Bakura, and Ryou was temporarily stunned. Bakura looked at him and chuckled.

"Don't let it go to your head landlord," he said. "I respect anyone who can divine the messages they are given in life. Now why don't you clear up the cards, and go to bed? It's getting late, and I gather you will want to pass this reading on to your dear sister."

Ryou had made no moves to clear up the cards, but at the mention of his sister, his jaw dropped open.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he demanded, his voice shaking slightly. Bakura chuckled again.

"My dear hikari, I'm dead, not stupid. I know what is in those letters under your textbooks."

Mentally Ryou cringed. So Bakura knew he still wrote to his sister. He braced himself for the wave of scorn that he was sure would follow. To his surprise however, Bakura just sat there gazing out the window.

"You're not laughing?" Ryou asked in surprise. Bakura shook his head.

"Why?" The thief's head snapped around and he fixed Ryou with a glare that made the poor boy wonder if perhaps he had gone too far. He unconsciously tensed for a blow. Bakura clearly noticed this, as Ryou felt a wave of exasperation and…hurt flow down the link?

"Contrary to popular believe Ryou I am not as heartless as everyone thinks. Don't presume that you're the only one who ever lost someone."

And without another word, Bakura disappeared back into the Ring. Ryou relaxed, but he knew his yami was not far, and he was most definitely still listening. Slowly he gathered up the cards, reshuffled them, and replaced the deck on his bedside table. The clock next to it read midnight. His had hesitated for a moment, before he reached for his textbooks and pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment and his quill.

Bakura might be listening and watching, but that would not stop him from finding comfort.

OOO

* * *

**A/N: **The Tarot Spread I got from the following website (remove spaces)

http // jksalescompany . com / dw / tarot . html

The spread is number 3. The card meanings were my own deduction (to be honest, I'm much more comfortable reading my own deck, so this reading might have seemed a little off).

Once again, hugs to Isis the Sphinx, who even at the end of an exhaustive week can still find time to chat to me, duel me on msn and beta my work. You are an awesome person my dear.

A heap of thanks to DuelistBlake1852, Shamise, Sphymx and Yugisrose for sticking with me.

If anyone was wondering, NaNoWriMo was officially abandoned last week. I made it to 12,210 words. Oh well, maybe next year I'll do better. To be fair, I'd rather be writing this fanfic than my nano fic.

Next chapter should be in about two weeks-ish. Probably not till after the 15th when I finally get home from Uni.

Until then, keep reviewing!


	10. Chapter 10: Poor Anger Management

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, or YuGiOh. If I did I'd own my own Quidditch stadium, and we'd all be able to buy duel disks...oooh I wish. I really do.

**Warning: **Bad language on Malik's part. He's in a foul mood though so it's not entirely unexpected.

* * *

**Chapter 10: Poor Anger Management**

"_Hehehe! Time for you to pay up Pharaoh!"_

"_Pharaoh! I won't let this happen to you!"_

_He materialised next to his other half, and pushed him firmly between the shoulders, and out of harms way. Yami turned in shock to face him._

"_Yugi?! Stop! What are you doing here?"_

_Even with the Seal branded on his forehead, Yugi could not be angry with him. He was his other self. He always forgave him._

"_It only needs one of us," he explained sadly. "So I'm letting the Seal take me instead."_

"_No! Yugi!"_

_Yugi bowed his head, feeling himself get taken, torn away from his body...his senses…his friend. But to his horror, he felt a wrench at his heart and the same feeling of being taken away…coming from Yami._

_The Seal was taking him too!_

"_No! Yami no! You were supposed to be spared! The Seal was supposed to take me, not both of us! Yami! Yami!"_

OOO

"No!...Yami! Don't…not him too! No!"

"Yugi! Yugi! Wake up!"

Yugi was shaken out of his disturbed sleep by a frantic looking Ryou. Harry was also kneeling next to the bed, looking extremely concerned. The rest of the boys in the dorm were sitting upright, worried expressions on their faces, all except Malik and Ron who were still fast asleep.

Trembling, Yugi sat up. His forehead and the back of his neck were damp with sweat and he felt like he had just wrestled a Blue Eyes. The Puzzle felt heavy around his neck, and he gripped it unconsciously. A wave of reassurance met him and he relaxed slightly. Yami was fine, but he could tell from the undercurrent of panic, he was just as shaken up as he was.

"Are you alright Yugi?" Ryou asked, making sure to speak Japanese, as Yugi was not wearing his language patch. He handed it and a glass of water to his friend, and Yugi accepted gratefully.

"I'm fine," he said faintly, once the patch was back in place. "It was just a nightmare."

"Don't be stupid," Ryou snapped. "This is the seventh time in the last three weeks! This is more than a nightmare Yugi and you know it."

He turned away and hurried to Malik's bed. The Egyptian's possessions were strewn around his bed, making the place look remarkably like a bomb site. What was even more astonishing was that most of these items were books. Since the trip to Hogsmeade, Malik had been fiddling around with the duel disks in his spare time, occasionally bugging the other two, who were more proficient at most of the spells, to come and help. The half modified duel disk lay on his bedside table, along with his deck (Malik slept with the Rod under his pillow). Ryou peered over the pillow and sighed at his snoring friend. A glass of water later, and a spluttering Malik was awake.

"Malik! Up!" We are having a talk and we are having it now!"

Muttering profanity in Arabic, Malik pulled himself out of bed, shirtless, face wet, and hair sticking up porcupine style. He slapped the language patch on his arm, and his complaining switched abruptly into English.

"This better be good, I was dreaming about Honeydukes," Malik muttered, not noticing that Ron was now awake and was once again, pointing out his scars to Harry. Harry took a cautious glance at the Egyptian's back, and was stunned to see that the scars were not randomised as he had originally thought. He realised with horror, that someone had carved hieroglyphs into their friend's skin. Clearly they were not the only ones that had noticed, as he could hear Dean and Seamus whispering. To divert attention, Harry suggested once again to Yugi that he go see Madam Pomfrey.

"Really I'm fine Harry," Yugi repeated, slightly irritably. Truthfully, he was not fine at all. The nightmares had been going on for the last three weeks. First they just started out as flashbacks. Then they had progressed into something far worse, showing the Orichalcos taking Yami's soul along with his own…

Yugi shook his head, angry that he had allowed himself to get into this state. Malik plonked himself down on the end of the bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Are you alright Yugi?" he asked.

"For the last time, I'm fine!" Yugi snapped, before covering his mouth with his hands. "Sorry…I didn't mean to shout."

"Meh, it's natural for nightmares," Malik shrugged.

"_And I should know,_" he thought bitterly before yawning.

"So if you're alright, can I go back to bed?"

Bakura, who had come out at Ryou's command, rolled his eyes and smacked him around the head. He drew the curtains around Yugi's bed to cut out the stares of the rest of the dormitory.

"If you would both pay attention to my Ring," he said, speaking in Japanese so that no one else could understand. The faint glow from under his t-shirt indicated that the Ring was active. "I would be able to tell you that this is no ordinary nightmare. There are traces of dark magic all over your souls…also I can tell you that high highness is panicking."

A harassed looking Pharaoh appeared in Yugi's place.

"I was not panicking Bakura!" he snapped angrily. Bakura folded his arms smirking.

"Really? The Millennium Ring would beg to differ with that opinion. Or had you forgotten my Ring ability to see into people's souls?"

"Stay out of our souls Thief!" Yami ordered furiously. "Everything is fine."

"I know why you're so freaked out," Bakura said. "Its not just Yugi having these nightmares and you sensing his panic. You're both having them."

It was a statement, not a question. Malik's eyes widened. Sprits did not normally dream. Only something really powerful could have caused Yami's to dream at all, let alone have such a violent nightmare. The Pharaoh bristled.

"It's none of your business what we dream."

"You're worried about losing Yugi like you did last time, aren't you?" Bakura said, with a smug look. "How sweet."

/_Bakura, watch it_/ Ryou warned. Malik however, interrupted.

"What do you mean, 'like last time'? What are you talking about Bakura?"

"How do you know about that Bakura?" Yami demanded, wondering for a second if Yugi had perhaps told Ryou and Malik without him knowing.

"You told me remember?" Bakura said obviously. "'_That is what the Orichalcos does to you Bakura. It rips souls apart' _Weren't those your exact words? It wasn't that difficult to work it out"

"It rips souls apart…you mean?" Malik trailed off, turning towards the gobsmacked Pharaoh. "You lost a duel? An Orichalcos duel? And your soul was taken?"

Yami shook his head, as he sank back onto the bed, shoulders slumped in defeat.

"I did lose," he admitted. "But it wasn't my soul who suffered."

"Then who's…" Malik trailed off as he pieced it together. "Yugi…"

"Why didn't you tell us this earlier?" Bakura asked, though it was not a forceful demand. He honestly had no idea that the Pharaoh's hikari was capable of doing something that brave. Yami's crimson eyes narrowed at the thief.

"I'm not exactly proud of the fact Bakura," he said irritably. "It was the worst thing I've ever done in my life."

"You can't blame yourself for losing," Malik said. "The Orichalcos is designed to give unfair advantages. We all know in a fair duel you're unbeatable…as much as it pains me to say it."

Yami shifted guiltily in his seat. He still had not told them the worst part – that he had been the one to activate the Seal in that duel. He debated over the idea for a few seconds, before deciding that he would rather keep it close to his chest for now.

"It's still my fault Malik," he said. "I lost him. And now when we keep reliving it every night…"

"Which you shouldn't be," Malik said fiercely. "Spirits shouldn't dream unless it's a prophetic dream or unless there is an extremely powerful magical force influencing them. And it certainly shouldn't be repeating itself for this long."

"Can you pinpoint any dark magic in the castle?" Yami asked. Bakura shook his head.

"There's too much magic in Hogwarts to focus. Unless I specify exactly what kind of magic I'm looking for, say another Millennium Item for example, then the Ring can't locate it. It'll just point towards anything that gives off a magical energy."

He demonstrated as he spoke. The pointers of the Ring jingled, pointing in all directions, before falling silent.

"No luck there then," Malik said. "Unless we find out what's causing these nightmares, we can't track it down."

He trailed off, the three of them sitting there helplessly, before Yugi appeared in spirit form and broke the silence.

"Maybe we should get dressed. The others are probably starting to wonder what we're hiding."

It was a good idea, particularly to Malik, who now realised that he had been wandering around the dormitory shirtless for the last ten minutes. He really did not want another confrontation with Harry and Ron over his scars. Along with the incident on the train, their new friends had caught sight of his back again one evening, when Malik had forgotten to draw his curtains and they had walked in on him changing. The questioning had started again, but Malik had drawn his curtains forcibly and cut them off. He had soon learned to keep his curtains closed, especially when sleeping, as he tended to go shirtless.

The curtains were pulled back and Malik and Ryou vacated the bed. Harry and Ron had pulled on their own clothes and bundled their Quidditch robes up for the match later that morning. The other boys were also getting dressed in Gryffindor colours. They all looked up when the three transfers reappeared.

"Are you sure you're alright Yugi?" Harry asked again, bracing himself just in case his friend blew up at him. This time however, Yugi gave him a reassuring smile, which was a lot more like his usual self.

"I'm fine now Harry. Don't worry about me."

"Malik," Ron said. "What happened to your back?"

Malik didn't look at him as he pulled on one of his short lavender shirts.

"Nothing happened Ron," he replied in an almost bored voice.

"Clearly something did happen," Harry said. "I thought those scars were accidental. But those are hieroglyphs aren't they?"

"It's really not important okay," Malik said firmly, drawing his curtains closed and pulling a clean pair of black jeans on. He was trying very hard not to lose his temper. Ron seemed to catch the tone and he stayed quiet.

"Sorry, just asking," he muttered.

"Yeah, well don't," Malik snapped, remerging, now fully dressed, with kohl on his eyes. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay…but maybe it would help to talk about it," Harry said, remembering his own experiences. Certainly since telling the Prophecy to Ron and Hermione he had felt much better.

"For the love of Ra will you all just drop it already?!" Malik exploded. "Which part of that sentence do you not get?"

"Just trying to help," Seamus said. "No need to get nasty."

"You're not helping," Malik retorted, grabbing his hoodie and zipping it up. "You're just being nosy. All of you."

"Don't blame us for being curious," Ron defended, ignoring the 'shut the hell up' gestures coming from Yugi and Ryou. "Someone clearly happened to you, and we're just showing concern. We're all supposed to be mates, but you're keeping stuff secret from us."

Malik's temper finally snapped.

"You want to know what I'm keeping secret?!" he shouted, watching in satisfaction as everyone jumped. "How I had these hieroglyphs carved into my back with a hot knife when I was only ten years old?! How I was pinned down on that table by the man I called father, while he cut each one of these fucking symbols into my skin?! How I couldn't move from my bed for almost a month because I was in so much pain?! Or perhaps you want to know how it feels to have your flesh ripped apart with a knife? How each slice draws blood that seems to taint every inch of you it touches? Or how lonely and desperate you feel when your only family has turned their heads away from your pleas because its supposed to be your _destiny_ to have this shit inflicted upon you…"

He finished breathing heavily. The rest of the boys were completely speechless. Harry and Ron were looking horrified, while Seamus and Dean were looking shamefully down at their blankets, clearly sorry that they had ever pushed the matter. Neville looked as though he wanted to be sick, and Yugi and Ryou were watching with fear in their eyes. They had never seen Malik lose his temper like this before, nor had they ever heard their friend talk willingly about the Tomb Keepers Initiation.

Malik fixed Ron with a glare.

"The next time you pry into someone's personal life Ron, ask yourself how much you really want to know."

And shoving the Rod and his deck into his pocket, he stormed from the room, banging the door again the wall of the staircase as he went. For a long time, no one spoke. Then Bakura decided to take over and break the silence.

"Well done you lot, you officially pissed him off. Hope you're all happy."

He grabbed his deck and began pulling on his shoes.

"You're going after him?" Yugi asked, surprised. Bakura shook his head.

"No we'd better give him a minute to cool off. If he hasn't joined us at breakfast then I'll go look for him. Besides," he switched to Japanese. "It's not like he can hide from me. He took the Rod with him."

Fortunately however Bakura's hunch was indeed correct. Malik showed up half way through breakfast. He was not speaking to anyone and still looked glum at having been forced to think about the initiation. Yugi and Ryou decided best not to say anything and Hermione, who had spent breakfast that morning hidden behind a text book, also seemed to realise that the Egyptian was in a bad mood and best left alone.

It was not just Malik who was moody however. The animosity between Gryffindor and Slytherin had never been so high. The excitement of the upcoming match seemed to have given way to an all out war between the two houses that had been going on for most of the last three weeks. Nearly all the Gryffindor and Slytherin players had been sent to the hospital wing at least once with various injuries or ailments, as a result of provoking the other team. Malfoy as the captain, seemed to be the primary instigator behind this little animosity.

As if thinking about him had summoned him, Malfoy sauntered into the hall. Harry gripped his goblet tightly, anticipating the moment when he would be able to show the blonde Slytherin up in front of the entire school. Malik was also glaring at him, looking as though he would like nothing more than to take the jam covered knife he was holding and thrust it between his ribs.

"He caught me on the way down from the tower," he said briefly. "Bastard tried to trip me."

"Think we could persuade Melissa and Corvin to hit him with both Bludgers during the match?" Ron asked, referring to the two new Gryffindor beaters.

"Probably," Harry agreed. "I heard that Malfoy had Crabbe and Goyle beat up Melissa's little brother the other day. She'd definitely be up for it."

"Are they always this unpleasant or is it just the Quidditch match?" Ryou asked.

"They're always like this," Ron said immediately.

"That's not true Ron," Hermione said. "It's just the Quidditch match. And it's not like the Gryffindor team are totally innocent either. Ginny sent two Slytherin's to the hospital wing the other day, courtesy of Bat Bogey Hexes."

Ron raised an eyebrow, looking rather impressed at his sister's team spirit. They were distracted however as Malik used his spoon to flick a piece of Ryou's sausage at Malfoy.

They said goodbye to Harry and Ron, and Hermione led them into the stands of the Quidditch pitch. Malik was still grumbling in a mixture of Arabic and Egyptian, and from the poisonous look on his face when the two teams came out of the changing rooms, it was not hard to figure out what he was miffed about.

"Erm…why is Malik so…" Hermione cast about for a word that would not send the blond into an even worse temper.

"Temperamental?" Yugi supplied quietly. "Really Hermione, it's probably best that you don't ask."

Down on the pitch, Harry spotted his friends up in the stands. Hermione, Yugi and Ryou waved enthusiastically. Malik still looked grumpy.

"Thought he might have cheered up by now," Ron muttered on his left. With time to cool off on both parties however, Harry was feeling extremely guilty for his involvement in the argument earlier that day. He realised he should have known better than to pester Malik about what was obviously a painful subject. After all, he knew just how he felt, every time someone stared at the lightning scar on his forehead.

"Captains! Shake hands!" Madam Hooch ordered. She looked tense, as if she expected there to be trouble. Harry stalked over to Malfoy, who was smirking, and the two grasped hands briefly. Harry had to repress a shudder as he touched the other boy. Not only was his hand freezing, but he felt a sick feeling pass through his stomach when they made contact. There was also a glint in Malfoy's eyes, that he did not like one bit.

"Mount your brooms," Madam Hooch commanded. "Three, two, one…"

The whistle blew and the players rose into the air. Yugi followed Hermione's gaze to see Ron heading for the Gryffindor goal posts. Harry was rising high above the rest of the team, keeping his eyes peeled for the Snitch. Ryou's eyes were fixed on the Chasers and the movement of the Quaffle.

"Who's that doing the commentary?" he asked as a loud enthusiastic female voice appeared through the pitch.

"Maxine Daniels," Hermione said briefly. "She's in Ravenclaw, a year above us. Sounds like she's already getting on Professor McGonagall's bad side."

And sure enough…

"…Katie Bell in possession already, tailed quickly by Kenneth Emmert...pretty good looking, for a Slytherin…"

"Miss Daniels, the match!" McGonagall warned her.

"Okay, okay, I got it Professor. Anyway, Bell passes. Robyn Aries in possession, new find for the Gryffindor team, so let's see whether Potter made a good choice with her. Urquhart closing in along side…Emmert on the other. Don't fancy her chances of escaping, as you can see Urquhart is the size of a large boulder…"

"Daniels!"

"I merely speak the truth Professor!" she defended. "Aries doesn't look too confident with those two on her sides. Nope, she's got rid of the Quaffle. Passed to Ginny Weasley, who if you will remember, was seeker last year for Gryffindor. Let's see how she handles her new position."

Ginny appeared to be handling it very well, as she shook off the third Slytherin chaser, looped around the keeper, and put the Quaffle straight through the centre post.

"Ten zero to Gryffindor!" Maxine announced. Yugi and Ryou cheered along with Hermione, and even Malik managed to look gleeful.

Yugi stopped clapping quickly as the game play continued and Slytherin took possession. He'd felt something strange coming from the pitch. It was like a pulse of anger that radiated into the stands. In his soul room, Yami snapped to attention, appearing in spirit form to watch the game.

"Slytherin in possession," Maxine continued. "Vaisey with the Quaffle. He's an ugly looking one isn't he?…Is it just me or do most of the Slytherin team look too bulky to stay in the air?"

"Daniels! If you insult the players one more time…!"

"Sorry Professor, it just slipped out." Maxine did not sound sorry in the slightest. "Anyway, Vaisey has the Quaffle…OW! Nice bludger work from Melissa Sprite, another new addition to the Gryffindor team. Very powerful swing by the looks of things. Vaisey has dropped the Quaffle, and Bell is looking to intercept…Merlin! That had to hurt!"

There was a roar of anger from the Gryffindor spectators. Urquhart had turned his broom towards the sinking Quaffle, and slammed into Katie as she had reached it. She was sent spinning out of control, but managed to steady her broom and climb back on properly before she hit the ground. Ginny and Robyn checked over her worriedly, while Urquhart tried to explain to Madam Hooch that he hadn't seen her and that he hadn't been able to break in time. It was fairly clear that the referee did not believe him, and she eventually gave a blast on her whistle.

"Penalty to Gryffindor," Maxine announced. "And Urquhart's back in the air, and he is not looking happy about it folks! Neither does Malfoy come to that, he's screaming at him out there…"

Sure enough, Draco Malfoy was yelling what appeared to be a reprimand at his chaser. Harry however, was marking Malfoy close enough to hear what the seeker was really shouting.

"Next time, try and take her off the broom you idiot!"

Harry felt his own anger rise at the idea that Malfoy would have the gall to target his team like that. As Ginny flew in to take the penalty shot, Harry sped over to Corvin, who was squaring himself at an oncoming bludger.

"Corvin, hit Malfoy if you can!" he ordered. The smaller boy nodded, before swinging the bludger with as much force as he could towards the Slytherin Captain. A cheer rose from the stands as Ginny scored again, and it was followed by another scream of delight, as the bludger slammed into the side of Malfoy's head. Much to everyone's disappointment however, he managed to stay on his broom.

"Twenty zero to Gryffindor!" Maxine shouted over the din. "And Slytherin Captain Malfoy has been pounded by a bludger! That looked really painful! And Madam Hooch is coming to check him out…looks as though he'll be able to carry on though."

In the stands, Yugi suddenly doubled over as a wave of nausea hit him. Ryou and Malik felt a small twinge in their stomachs, and Hermione bent over Yugi, who was now looking ill.

"Yugi? What's wrong? Are you okay?" she sounded extremely worried. Yugi nodded, but he was far from okay.

/_You felt it too didn't you Yami_?/ he asked. The Pharaoh nodded.

//_Let me take over Yugi_// he said. Yugi nodded, and Yami appeared, his face white.

"Yugi?" Hermione asked, apparently still worried by his silence. Ryou noticed the change.

"Yami, what's wrong?" he asked in Japanese. Yami looked out over the match, no doubt left in his mind.

"There's Orichalcum at this match," he said in English. Ryou and Malik looked horrified, and Hermione's eyes widened.

"You mean…the weapon that Voldemort has? But how could it be here?...and how do you know its here?"

"Long story Hermione, but basically, Yugi can sense the magic of the Orichalcos," Malik explained, before looking up with a jolt. "…and I think we can too," he added, before turning to Ryou.

"When Yugi doubled over just now, did you feel something?"

Ryou looked horrified. "Like a twinge in your stomach?" he asked. "I felt that."

"We can sense it too," Malik said. "Like Yugi, Joey and Kaiba can, just not as clearly. Must have something to do with the fact its dark magic…"

"Hold on a second," Hermione said, waving her hands to get attention. "Didn't the paper say that they use the Orichalcos to…"

"Steal people's souls," Yami finished. "Yes. And if someone out there knows how to use the Orichalcos…"

"Then they could use the Seal to take the souls of the players," Ryou said, now looking utterly terrified. "Harry, Ron and the whole team are in danger!"

There was a scream from the crowd, and the four of them turned their attention back to the match, just in time to see Ginny plummet to the ground. Madam Hooch's whistle blew, and Ron tore across the pitch and started screaming at Crabbe and Goyle. Apparently they had smacked the two bludgers at Ginny, who had not moved quickly enough to escape them both. On the ground, Harry was helping Madam Hooch to lead Ginny off the field.

"If there is Orichalcos on the field," Hermione asked in dread. "Does that mean that Ginny…"

"Her soul is fine," Yami assured her. "The Seal hasn't been played yet. Possibly the person who has the Orichalcum doesn't want to draw attention to themselves."

"So if they aren't playing the Seal, then what's the point of having it?" Malik asked.

"The Orichalcos affects judgement remember," Ryou said, remembering the conversation they had had after the attack in Domino Park. "It brings out the darkness and makes people angry."

"So they're using it to make the players angry," Hermione said, looking utterly horrified. "We need to tell the Professors! Quidditch matches are violent enough. Who knows what will happen if the players are having their emotions intensified? Ginny and Katie are already hurt!"

Ryou shot off down the stands. Malik cursed mentally, wishing they had picked seats closer to the teachers stands. Yami and Hermione turned fearfully back to the game. They appeared to have missed a few goals in light of their panicked discussion.

"What's the score now?" Hermione asked, alternating her binoculars between Harry and Ron. Yami was not listening. He was trying desperately to pinpoint where the Orichalcum was, but all the players were moving too fast for him to sense exactly who was holding it. He cursed loudly.

"Why did we send Ryou?" he asked aloud in Japanese. "We should have asked him to point the Orichalcum out with the Ring!"

Malik began cursing again, this time verbally. His swearing became louder as Emmert barged past Ron, who was so angry at his sister's injury that his concentration was slipping. The Quaffle went through the centre hoop, and everyone groaned.

"Twenty thirty to Slytherin," Maxine reported, sounding utterly disheartened at the moment. "And Gryffindor appear to be struggling with only two chasers, and I have to say I think Bell is mildly concussed from her collision earlier with Urquhart. She certainly doesn't look that focused."

Up in the air, Harry resisted the urge to break something (preferably Malfoy's neck) as Vaisey shot up in front of Katie and snatched the Quaffle from her grasp, and forcing her to pull away to avoid collision.

"Slytherin in possession," Maxine groaned. "Passes over to Emmert. Oooh! Almost had a bludger embedded in his skull! So close too! But he's now marked by Aries. She's not letting him get away! Emmert's climbing, possibly trying to shake her off…no he's not! He's dropped the Quaffle to Vaisey, who now has no chasers after him. It's all down to the keeper now. Can Weasley block it?"

There was a relieved cheer from the Gryffindors as Ron saved. He was clearly still angry, but he seemed to be channelling that into his game play now. He threw it to Robyn, who ducked as a bludger soared right over her head, slamming into Crabbe instead.

"Crabbe is down!" Maxine cheered gleefully. "Too slow to hit that bludger! Some beater he is! Guess he is more muscle than brains! And looks like he's out of it now! Too bad! And Aries is back in possession now..."

"They seem to be doing okay," Hermione said, clearly trying to reassure herself more than the other two. Malik was watching, his hands gripping the barrier of the stand. Yami scanned the crowd.

"Where on Earth is Ryou?" he asked. "He should have got to the stands by now."

Malik immediately began looking too. Even with Ryou's hair, it was hard to tell people apart in the mass of onlookers. Finally however, he spotted him in amongst a mass of green and silver. He groaned and grabbed Yami's arm. Ryou was about half way to the teachers stands, but he had been held up by a group of Slytherin seventh years, all whom were easily twice his size. From the way his hair was spiked at the top, the two could easily see that Bakura was out, and from his stance, he was raring for a fight.

"I'll go, you stay here and keep an eye on Hermione," Malik said, and he vanished without another word. He could see from there that if he did not step in soon, Bakura was going to banish half a dozen people to the Shadow Realm without a care in the world.

"I don't have time for this!" the thief snapped at the six surrounding him. His host had been pushing his way through the crowd when the six spectators had decided to corner him off. The fact that he was a Gryffindor seemed to make him an easy target for them.

"What the hell is a stuck up Gryffindor girl like you doing on our stands?" one of them demanded. Bakura raised an eyebrow lazily.

"That is none of your concern," he hissed, reaching in his pocket for his knife. "Now step out of my way…if you value your soul that is."

They all chuckled stupidly, and Bakura's temper snapped. The Ring glowed angrily, and the six of them keeled over in a heap.

"Enjoy your trip to the Shadow Realm," Bakura muttered, slipping into the crowd that began to gather around the fallen bodies. "Pitiful mortals…"

"Well as amusing as I found that, I don't think the Pharaoh will approve." Bakura's eyes narrowed into a glare as Malik approached.

"And since when have I given a damn about what the Pharaoh thinks?" Bakura asked pointedly. "Have no fear Malik, they shall be back to normal by the end of the day, if a little wiser for their actions."

"In the mean time," Malik said. "We have teachers to warn."

Around them, there was a shout from the Slytherin spectators as Katie took possession of the Quaffle.

"Gryffindor in possession!" Maxine announced. "All three Slytherin chasers closing in. Katie's going to have to pass. Oooh! Her aim is a little off! Definitely concussed! Emmert intercepts, and they're all streaking back to the Gryffindor posts…they're making very frequent passes, they clearly aren't letting the Quaffle go…Urquhart in possession as they enter the scoring zone. Keeper Weasley intercept…CHEATING BASTARD!"

The Gryffindors anger was drowned out by Hermione's scream of terror. Just as Ron had caught the Quaffle, Malfoy had ploughed into him from above, sending him flying off his broom. He skidded into the ground, slamming into the base of the goal posts as he went. Madam Hooch was completely livid.

"In all my years never have I seen such behaviour! Two penalties to Gryffindor!"

"Two penalties to Gryffindor people!" Maxine announced. "And it looks like they're taking Weasley off the pitch too. Don't think he'll be getting up for a while. And…my God, the Gryffindor spectators are attacking Malfoy!"

It was true. Around Hermione and Yami, the livid Gryffindor supporters had begun throwing things at the Slytherin captain, or else banishing them with their wands when he flew too far away. Binoculars, water bottles, shoes and other heavy items were thrown and then summoned back so they could be thrown again. Malfoy cowered at the other end of the pitch, but there was no escaping the magically flying objects being thrown at him in anger. The remaining Slytherins surrounded him in a vain effort to protect their captain, but they only succeeded in taking the brunt of the assault.

Yami fought down another wave of nausea as the dark magic of the Orichalcos flared angrily. If this match went on any longer the Seal could be played, and then nothing anyone did would be able to stop it. He frantically sought out Ryou and Malik. The two boys were almost at the staff stands. Some of the teachers had moved out to the stands in order to try and restore calm among the Gryffindor supporters.

On the pitch, Madam Hooch blew her whistle and Robyn came forward to take the first penalty shot. Melissa and Corvin were ready, taking advantage of the chaos to perform a dopplebeater defence, hitting the bludger at the same time to send it zooming faster and more powerfully than normal at Bletchly. The Keeper flew off his broom and plummeted to the ground. Robyn scored with no problems.

"Thirty all!" Maxine announced. "And Bletchly is down ladies and gentlemen! The bludgers are certainly living up to their name today! Bell comes forward to take the second penalty shot. She looks a little more focused. She must be angry. The Gryffindors want revenge against Malfoy for his filthy bit of cheating earlier…"

"Miss Daniels, an unbiased opinion please!"

On the other side of the pitch, Bakura and Malik barely registered the second cheer as Katie scored. They had finally made it to the teachers stands and were pushing their way towards the front. Most of the Professors were on their feet, watching the match with tense expressions on their faces.

"Professor!" Malik gasped, trying not to curse Snape as the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher trod on his foot accidentally. "Professor Dumbledore!"

The headmaster turned his head, surprised to see the two transfers looking out of breath and extremely panicked. Around them, the other teachers backed away, staring in confusion.

"Mr Ishtar. Mr Bakura. What can I do for you both?"

"You need to stop the match," Bakura said. "Someone's bought Orichalcum to the game. That's why everyone's acting so violently."

As he spoke there was another cry of outrage as Melissa was knocked face first into her broom handle by Goyle's beaters bat. Her nose was bleeding freely, blood staining her robes a darker shade of crimson. Corvin retaliated by punching Goyle in the nose. He didn't do much damage to the larger boy, indeed he looked as though the impact had broken his fist instead. Madam Hooch, practically beside herself now, gave two blasts on her whistle.

"Penalty to Gryffindor and to Slytherin!"

There was a groan of disbelief from both sides of the pitch. With no keepers on the field, Robyn and Urquhart had no problems scoring, bringing the score up further.

"Forty fifty to Gryffindor!" Maxine said. "And I have to say, this is one of the dirtiest matches I've ever seen in my seven years of coming to this scho…The seekers are diving! The snitch has been spotted!"

Everyone's attention swung to Harry and Malfoy, who were racing neck and neck towards the centre of the pitch. Skimming the ground was the snitch. In the stands, Hermione was jumping up and down in excitement. Yami gripped the edge of the stands, completely on edge. If one of them could catch the snitch the game would be over and they would not have to worry about the Seal...

Malfoy it seemed, was not out of tricks yet. Harry had a seconds warning before his rival ploughed his fist his face. Harry felt his nose break and his glasses fly off. His vision was obscured badly. He could just about make out the glint of gold that was the snitch. Madam Hooch blew her whistle to indicate a penalty for the attack, but neither seeker listened. Harry was beginning to despair. Malfoy was flying much faster than him, and he could barely see the snitch without his glasses. It would take a near miracle…

"Come on Harry!" Hermione screamed. Next to her Yami prayed.

"_Our souls are in your hands Harry."_

"Come on!" Malik shouted, not paying any attention to the teachers behind him. Next to him, Bakura and Dumbledore watched with bated breath.

And a miracle appeared for the Gryffindors.

For the second time that day a bludger slammed into Malfoy. Corvin had swung his bat at the ball with as much force as he could muster, praying that he would hit Malfoy rather than Harry. This time the seeker was thrown sideways off his broom, almost upsetting Harry in the process. Harry, still unable to see clearly, made a wild swipe at the golden glimmer ahead of him.

The warm metal ball pressed into his palm, and he landed in a heap on the ground, the snitch clasped in his hand.

OOO

"Ow…" Ron groaned, as Madam Pomfrey slammed an ice pack none to gently on his forehead. The matron looked very harassed, probably because at present she was rushed off her feet. Not only did Ron have mild concussion from slamming his head against the goal posts, but he also had two fractured ribs from where Malfoy had slammed into him with the point of his broom handle.

On the next bed lay Katie, who had been dragged to the Hospital Wing by Professor McGonagall after she had collapsed at the end of the match from severe concussion. Next to her was Ginny, who was suffering from head trauma and a possible fractured skull. Melissa had a broken nose, which had been healed in an instant by Madam Pomfrey, and Corvin had dislocated knuckles from where he had punched Goyle. Harry sat by Ron's side, his own nose having been healed, and his glasses returned to him.

On the other side of the hospital wing were the Slytherin casualties. The two teams had been separated to try and prevent more injuries, but everyone seemed a lot calmer now that they were off the pitch. Bletchly was still unconscious and had the three chasers standing at his side as a vigil. Crabbe was mildly concussed and his only visitor was Goyle, who looked extremely lost on his own.

Next to Crabbe was the strangest sight. Six Slytherin spectators who had reportedly passed out during the match. They appeared totally motionless, but occasionally one of them would stir and mutter something incoherent under their breath, or else, whimper in a frightened manner.

It was at these six Slytherins that Yami was now directing his attention. He did not need the Puzzle to know that they were now in the Shadow Realm, and the fact that they had been the Slytherins who had cornered Ryou on his way to the teachers stands pointed all fingers firmly at Bakura. The thief was not even attempting to hide the fact. The smug triumph on his face said it all.

"You could at least look sorry," Yami said in Egyptian. Bakura gave the Pharaoh an exasperated look.

"For Ra's sake Pharaoh, I'm bringing them back at the end of the night! That's extremely nice for me. Considering that they were holding me up and threatening my host, they're lucky to be alive."

"Nasty match hey?" Ron interrupted, saving Bakura from further reprimand.

"Too nasty," Bakura said angrily. "It shouldn't have been like that."

Harry and Ron looked confused. No one had filled them in yet on what had happened during match, attending instead to everyone who was injured. Hermione leaned over and filled them in.

"Yugi, Ryou and Malik said someone bought Orichalcum to the Quidditch match. That's why everyone was acting so violently."

The two Quidditch players stared at the two transfers.

"What? How could you tell?" Harry asked.

"We can sense Orichalcum when it's near," Yami said briefly, really not feeling like explaining it right now. He turned to Bakura. "Incidentally, you got to the stands. Why didn't Dumbledore stop the match?"

The thief shrugged. "We told him, but Dumbledore did not want to cause panic. Plus by the time we had explained everything, the snitch had appeared. He said if the snitch wasn't caught then he would stop the match." He fixed Harry with a look. "Malik and I were worried that you weren't going to catch the damn thing, especially when your glasses came off."

"Where is Malik anyway?" Ron asked, noticing through the daze of his concussion that the Egyptian boy was not with them.

"He vanished at the end of the match," Bakura said. "He said something about, hunting down a snake."

OOO

Malik Ishtar was not a fool. Ill tempered yes. Irrational maybe. But not a fool. He knew fourteen people did not get that angry and violent for no apparent reason, regardless of how intense the game was supposed to be. Someone had bought the Orichalcum to the match with the express purpose of making people mad enough to cause violence. Malik had been watching as the players had touched down after the match, and he had not missed the fact that Malfoy had not seemed that disappointed at the Slytherin loss, which was definitely suspicious. Plus the fact that he had not gone to the hospital wing despite being hit in the head twice with a bludger screamed something was up.

So that was why the bearer of the Millennium Rod was now waiting outside the Slytherin changing rooms. With most of the team currently in the hospital wing however, he did not have to wait long before Malfoy reappeared, carrying his broom and his robes under one arm. Malik tensed, ready to spring as the captain locked up the changing room door.

Malfoy had no sooner turned around to leave, when he was grabbed by the front of his robes and slammed into the wall. One hand went for his throat to assess the damage, and the other went for his wand. Malik however was quicker and ploughed his knee into Malfoy's stomach. The Slytherin doubled over and Malik set about removing his wand and throwing it into the nearest bush. Malfoy straightened up again to find the dagger at the end of the Millennium Rod against his neck, Malik smirked.

"I want a word with you_ Draco_," he spat the name out poisonously. Malfoy rolled his eyes.

"If you think I'm scared of you and your pretty little knife then you're sadly mistaken Ishtar."

Malik pressed the blade closer against his throat.

"Where's the Orichalcum you brought to the match?" he demanded.

Malfoy blinked before snorting. "You really are cracked. Why would I carry Orichalcum? It's been defined as an illegal substance by the Ministry."

"Oh I don't know," Malik said with enough sarcasm to sink the Titanic. "Why _would _you carry a rock that steals peoples souls and inflicts anger and misery to all those nearby? Aside from the fact that you're a brat who likes to make himself feel better by making others feel worse, you're also the son of a Death Eater."

Malfoy's eyes hardened.

"Don't you dare presume you know anything about me or my father!" he snapped. Malik interrupted by pressing the knife into his skin. Any deeper and he would start drawing blood.

"I don't have time or the patience to argue with you right now," he cut off. "Now where is the Orichalcum. I know you had some. What else could have made everyone so angry during the match?"

"Maybe you're just a lousy team?" Malfoy smirked. Malik lost his patience. He placed the Rod in his pocket, before lifting Malfoy up by the scruff of his neck and slamming him against the wall again. Malfoy looked mildly dazed, clearly still suffering from the after effects of being hit in the head twice by a bludger.

"I used to head a group of international thieves you know Malfoy," Malik hissed in a deadly voice. "We often had to extract information from people, and if they didn't do it our way…well, we had to persuade them. You'll find I can be very _very_ persuasive when I want to be. Now where is the Orichalcum?!"

He shook the boy, who now looked mildly afraid. Malik felt a small thrill run through him that he had not felt since his days of running the Rare Hunters. Oh how nice it was to have someone at his mercy, when just the slightest move could bruise him or even break a bone in his neck…Malik shook off his thoughts, horrified that he had been caught thinking them. That was his darker half talking not him! He was not like that anymore. He had decency now…well, more than he had previously at least.

"I swear Ishtar, I don't have any Orichalcum on me if that's what you're looking for," Malfoy said, trying to sound reasonable. "I don't know why the match was so violent. You've never seen a Quidditch match before, but anyone will tell you they're usually like that. Now why don't you let go of me before I…"

"Before you do what?" Malik cut him off scornfully. "You're wand is lying ten feet to my left. You have no other weapons save for the Orichalcum, and I'm holding you by the throat. Just the slightest squeeze away from you being in a world of pain…"

He tightened his grip for emphasis, and Malfoy began to struggle for air slightly.

"Are you not listening?" the blonde Slytherin gasped. "I don't have any Orichalcum on me!"

"Then why were you looking so happy at the end of the match?" Malik asked. "Because last time I checked, Slytherin lost that game. And you haven't gone to the hospital wing for your injuries. You're up to something."

"Are you kidding?" Malfoy asked. "I don't need to go to the hospital wing for two bumps on the head. Unlike the Gryffindor team, who seem to go at the first sight of pain, I can actually take it. And as for the game, who cares? Both Weasley's were knocked out in that match, and I managed to do something I've wanted to do for a long time – punch Potty in the face. I was so angry in that game all I wanted to do was hurt them. Hurt them for ever looking down at me like that…"

He trailed off as he seemed to realise what he was saying. Malik's eyes softened for just the barest second, but then he regained himself and clenched the boy's throat tighter.

"Were you anyone else, I might just have believed you were sincere," he said. "But I can sense the magic of the Orichalcos all over you Malfoy. I know you've got it."

"I…haven't…done anything!" Malfoy choked, grabbing Malik's hand in a vain effort to help him breathe easier. Malik's eyes widened as the blueish green stone on Malfoy's finger jumped out at him. He seized the Slytherin's hand and pulled the ring off, taking great care not to touch the stone if he could help it.

"Yoink," he said sarcastically. "Thanks for your cooperation."

"Hey that's my father's ring!" Malfoy whined. Malik dropped him to the ground, uncaringly, and pulled out a pair of black gloves from his pocket. He dropped the ring into one of them before pocketing it. He could feel the pulse of magic now that he was close to it, and he knew he had to get it to safe hands as fast as possible.

"Where did you get that ring?" he demanded, watching Malfoy scramble for his wand.

"I've told you it was my fathers!" Malfoy snapped, picking up his wand. "He sent it to me three weeks ago. You saw me coming down from the owlery after the Hogsmeade trip, remember?"

The Egyptian's eyes widened. It all made sense to him now!

"Are you trying to convince me that that rock in my ring is Orichalcum?" Malfoy asked sceptically. Malik gave him a dry look.

"You know perfectly well that it is," he said, folding his arms.

"It can't be," Malfoy protested. "I've been wearing it for three weeks, and I've still got my soul."

"The Orichalcos does more than steal souls Malfoy," Malik retorted. "It makes people angry, irrational and violent. Sound familiar?"

The Slytherin looked mildly horrified and Malik felt a small inkling in the back of his head.

"You really didn't know did you?" he asked. Malfoy shook his head, and Malik raised an eyebrow.

"Well I'll be damned," he muttered. The Orichalcum in his pocket flared slightly and Malik shook it off. The urge to leave was greater than ever now, but he couldn't leave without saying something first.

"Let me tell you something Malfoy," Malik said. "And listen, because it might help you one day. I used to bully people. I'd have my gang of thieves hunt people down and take what they loved the most. Then I tried to get revenge on people because I thought they deserved it, and I wanted them to suffer just as much as I had. I hurt my brother, my sister, and countless people I now call my friends, just so I could have revenge. Was it worth it? Hell no! In the end the person you wind up hurting the most is yourself."

And he turned on his heel and left at a brisk march towards the castle, wondering to himself just how nasty the Slytherin really was.

OOO

"I found it," Malik announced as he walked back into the Hospital Wing with Professor Dumbledore right behind him. He had made a brief detour to find the headmasters office as he knew the Orichalcum would be safest with him. Before he handed it over however, he wanted to bring the others up to date, so the headmaster was trailing behind him with a sombre look on his face.

"About bloody time too Tomb Keeper!" Bakura snapped. "I was about to come looking for you."

"Icksnay on the Keeper-day if you please," Malik hissed, as he and the headmaster approached the bed.

"You found it?!" Yami asked eagerly. Malik nodded, and sat down on the bed next to Ron. Hermione and Harry, who were also gathered there, shifted up to make room for the headmaster, who sat down and offered each of them a Sherbet Lemon. Malik pulled the glove out of his pocket, and Hermione hastily drew the curtains around the bed so that they had a little privacy from the rest of the hospital.

"Is it safe?" Ron asked. "Didn't you say this stuff steals peoples' souls?"

"Yeah it's safe," Malik said, shaking the glove. "Just don't touch it."

He gave the glove another shake, and the ring tumbled out onto the bed. Everyone leaned over it. It was rather elegantly made, the ring itself being made of silver, with two snakes twisted around the Orichalcum. The rock itself was unpolished, but its glow made it seem like a priceless gem none the less.

"Where did you find it?" Yami asked.

"Malfoy," Malik said with a growl. "He was wearing the ring during the match. I cornered him as he was leaving the changing rooms."

"I thought he was flying faster than usual in that game!" Harry said angrily.

"Slimy little…" Ron trailed off realising he was in the presence of the headmaster. Dumbledore however, seemed more interested in the ring itself, and was peering down his long crooked nose at the item.

"That's not all either," Malik said, remembering the end of his conversation with the Slytherin. "He said his father sent it to him three weeks ago. Remember when we came back from Hogsmeade on Halloween? We ran into him as he came down from the owlery? That was when he got it."

"He had a package with him!" Bakura said suddenly. "That was what was in that envelope he was carrying! That's why we all acted so violently! And that's why the Pha…Yugi lost his temper!"

"And I'll bet it's why everyone's been so violent these last three weeks," Malik added. "It's not just the usual pre-game hype. It's been the Orichalcos all along."

"My nightmares…" Yami said, sounding horrified. "You don't think…"

"Possibly," Malik said. "They were flashbacks from the Orichalcos crisis last time weren't they?"

Yami nodded, but did not reiterate exactly what the dreams had been about.

"That would actually make sense," Harry said, feeling glad that he could provide input for something. He didn't know much about the Orichalcos, but from the conversation so far, he gathered that this small stone was the cause of Yugi's recent sleepless nights. "When you sleep your mind's defences are generally weaker. If this rock was causing the nightmares it wouldn't have been hard for it to influence what you were dreaming."

"How do you know so much?" Malik asked curiously. Harry gulped, not really wanting to go into details about his connection with Voldemort. In the end, he settled for a simple answer.

"I had Occlumency lessons with Snape last year," he said.

"Occlumency?" Malik asked, sounding utterly confused.

"Defending the mind against external penetration," Bakura responded, remembering something Ryou had discovered in one of his textbooks.

"In English please Bakura," Malik asked dryly. The thief rolled his eyes.

"Crudely put, it's a type of magic that specialises in mind reading," he said simply. Malik gave an 'oh' of understanding. Yami however, had just thought of something, fear descending into the pit of his stomach.

"So what's going to happen to it now? It's not going to stay in the castle…is it?"

Dumbledore leaned back from where he had been prodding the glowing rock with his wand. He looked thoughtful, and surprisingly, very puzzled.

"Why does it glow like that?" Ron asked.

"It responds to the darkness in human hearts," Yami said.

"We're not dark though are we?" Ron asked, looking suspiciously at his friends.

"Every human being has darkness Ron," Bakura said seriously.

"Some more than others," Yami smirked in Egyptian.

"Shut up Pharaoh!" Bakura replied. "You're hardly one to talk. I know what you did when you first came out of the Puzzle."

Yami felt a wave of anger that, coupled with the Orichalcum, made him want nothing more than to lean over and throttle the Tomb Robber. Yugi however, interrupted.

/_No Other Me, don't think of that. It wasn't your fault and you know it. Don't let Bakura get to you_/

Yami nodded, but he did not feel reassured. It was true, he was dark, and the nightmares only served to remind him of that. Bakura and Malik might not yet know that he had played the Seal himself, but he knew. He had lost Yugi before, and he was certainly capable of losing him again. He didn't want to lose his other again. He would not survive. He would protect Yugi with everything he had.

But what if it wasn't enough…?

While the Pharaoh went over his misgivings, Dumbledore seemed to have reached a conclusion. He cleared his throat, and everyone looked at him.

"This magic is far older and darker than anything I have ever seen. I think the best course of action, considering the events of the Quidditch match today, would be to destroy it."

As he said this, he tapped the stone smartly with his wand and muttered something. The ring remained where it was, completely unaffected.

"Orichalcum isn't easy to destroy," Malik said, as Dumbledore tried again. Finally the headmaster sat down again, looking even more troubled than before.

"Would any of you three…?" he began. Bakura and Malik immediately shook their heads.

"When we found the chunk of it in Borgin and Burkes we tried to destroy it with…our magic," Bakura adlibbed, remembering that there were those in the room they did not want to inform about their powers. Even Dumbledore did not know the full extent of the Item's powers. "It didn't work. Seems nothing can destroy that thing."

"The only case I've ever seen where Orichalcum has been destroyed," Yami admitted. "Was when Raphael lost against me and renounced the darkness in his heart. According to Joey the same thing happened when he lost to Mai. If the person bearing it comes to terms with their darkness then the stone no longer has a hold over them and it is destroyed."

Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged looks. From the sounds of it, the three transfers knew more about the Orichalcos than they had led them to believe. Just how many secrets did they have? If the Orichalcos, and Malik's temper tantrum that morning were anything to go by, they had a lot. But then again, Harry wondered, remembering Malik's words, did they really want to know?

"So what do we do with it?" Bakura asked. Dumbledore frowned at the stone.

"I think for now, all we can do is keep it safely locked away here until we can find somewhere to put it away from human contact."

They could tell from the tone in his voice that the headmaster was by no means happy about keeping the Orichalcum in the castle, especially considering the effect it had had on the match that day. Yami cast about for an alternative desperately.

"What about sending it to Kaiba?" he suggested. "We could post it to him by owl and he could have it locked up. He's got a million safes miles under Kaiba Corp where he keeps things. It would be far away enough not to affect people, and no one could get in there, not even the Death Eaters.

Dumbledore thought about this alternative, but Hermione jumped in with a suggestion.

"I wouldn't send it by owl. If this thing is really dangerous the Death Eaters may try and get it back. Owls can be intercepted."

"We could give it to him at Christmas then," Yami said immediately. "It's only four weeks away."

The words sounded so long in his mind. Could he and Yugi last another four weeks having nightmares? They were barely getting enough sleep as it was.

"I could take it myself…" Dumbledore began but Yami interrupted.

"No offence Professor, but Kaiba would never listen to you, much less do you a favour. He's stubborn and pretty self-interested. I can give it to him. He listens to me because I'm his rival."

Dumbledore did not seem happy at all, but he seemed to accept that Yami would definitely know how Kaiba would react. He did after all, know him best of all the people in the room.

"I think you're idea is a good one Mr Mutou. Though I would agree with Miss Granger and recommend that you take the Orichalcum to Mr Kaiba during the holidays. It would be inadvisable for you to travel to Japan by magical means, as they too can be intercepted. In the meantime, I shall write to him and ask for his assistance."

"If he says no I'll challenge him to a duel and make it a term when he loses," Yami said, thinking longingly of when they returned home and he would be able to challenge the CEO.

"That's the King of Games we know!" Malik smiled. "What?" he asked when Yami gave him a quizzical look. "You said _when _he loses, not _if _he loses."

"I always beat Kaiba," Yami said smugly. He was well aware that Malik was trying to make him smile and he was grateful to the Tomb Keeper.

"And as for these nightmares you have been experiencing," the headmaster continued, directing his comments to Yami. "Madam Pomfrey has an impressive supply of Dreamless Sleep potion. I shall have her send you some. And if nothing else, I'm sure Harry could give you some advice on how to block unfriendly thoughts."

Harry looked mildly sheepish, remembering his disastrous attempts at closing his mind the previous year. Yami however, just thanked the headmaster, who stood up, pulled a purple spotted handkerchief from his pocket, and wrapped the ring up inside, allowing Malik to take his glove back.

"I shall put this in a safe place for now," Dumbledore promised. "Until then…"

"Keep this to ourselves?" Bakura asked, looking pointedly at Harry, Ron and Hermione. Their three friends nodded and Dumbledore smiled at them all.

"Exactly Mr Bakura. Exactly."

And without another word, Dumbledore turned and left, taking the dark oppressive feeling of the Orichalcos with it. Suddenly breathing was easier, and everything seemed a little bit brighter. That was until, Harry asked;

"So how did you three learn so much about the Orichalcos?"

They clammed up immediately.

"No offence to you guys," Malik said. "But it's probably safer if you don't know."

"What can possibly be less safe than what happened out there today?" Ron asked, jabbing a finger out of the window in the vague direction of the Quidditch Pitch. The three transfers exchanged looks with each other. They could tell them…they could unload their burdens…But it was far too dangerous. The secrets of the Items, the Shadow Games, and the Orichalcos were not for just anyone to know. Even Dumbledore did not know the full extent. They had to keep them secret for as long as they possibly could.

"There are a lot of things more dangerous than what the Orichalcos did to the Quidditch match today Ron," Ryou told him seriously. "We can't say anything."

Hermione and Ron both looked like they wanted to push it further, but Harry shook his head at them, remembering the events that had unfolded that morning. If the transfers wanted to keep secrets, then maybe it was best that they let them. After all, he knew better than most that sometimes things were best left alone.

"Hey," Ron said eventually, smiling at the thought. "Even if we did all get beat up, we won the match. That's always good."

Malik grinned. "Sounds like us when we're duelling. Even if we lose, we got to kick ass. Wait till you see us duelling with the duel disks. You've shown us Quidditch, now we have to show you how we do things in Japan."

"That would be good," Harry agreed. "But in the meantime, there's a DA meeting next week. You guys know about the Orichalcos, and I think we should start teaching people how to defend themselves against it. I'm not saying you have to tell us anything," he said quickly as all three of them opened their mouths. "But if you know anything that could help us at the meetings then we wouldn't mind hearing about it."

It was not a minute too soon when Madam Pomfrey came and shooed them all out of the Hospital Wing, insisting that Ron and the rest of the team needed sleep. Harry, his mind still buzzing with the events of the day, and plans for the upcoming DA meeting, feel asleep with no troubles. The same could not however, be said of the transfers.

Yugi sat on his bed, staring at the lavender coloured potion flask before him. He didn't like the idea of being dependent on potions in order to get a good nights sleep. It seemed like the easy way out somehow.

//_Yugi_// Yami said, before materialising in spirit form next to his younger counterpart. "You should take that Aibou. You need rest, especially after everything that's happened today."

"I know but…" Yugi trailed off. He didn't really need to explain his problems, after all Yami could feel them clearly enough. But somehow, he felt that saying them aloud would help him get it off his chest. "I don't want to rely on a potion to sleep. I just don't think the nightmares will get better if we cheat our way out of them. If anything, I'm worried that they'll get worse."

"I know," the Pharaoh agreed. "The sooner that Orichalcum is out of the building, the better in my opinion. But we still have almost four weeks of term left, and since we don't know where Dumbledore put the Orichalcum, it could be closer to us than it was with Malfoy, meaning the dreams will only get worse."

Yugi shivered. The November winds had never felt so cold as they did today. He looked around the dormitory at the other beds. Ron's was still empty of course and Harry was already fast asleep, curtains still wide open. The shadows behind the other three beds indicated that Dean, Seamus and Neville had already turned in. On his other side, the curtains were drawn around Ryou and Malik's beds, but the lack of Malik's snores and the faint glow from the Millennium Ring, indicated that neither of them were sleeping yet.

"We have a fight ahead of us Yugi," Yami reminded him. "Take the potion, get some rest, and know that I am here if you need me."

Yugi nodded. He had to trust what Yami said. He had four weeks until he could go home and not have to worry about nightmares. But until then, they had a job to do. Dumbledore had asked them to protect the students here, and he couldn't do that if he was tired. He gripped the potion flask and, with a rueful smile, raised it in a toast.

"To Gryffindor," he said to his darker half. Yami chuckled as Yugi gulped down the potion. He barely had time to set the flask on his nightstand before he slipped off to sleep. Yami, who also nodded off as the potion took effect on both their minds, fazed back into the Puzzle.

* * *

**A/N: **Happy Christmas…sorta… 

Okay it is for me. Basically since my family will be split up for Christmas we celebrated yesterday. It's a little weird going back to work and seeing people run around buying presents.

Thanks to Isis the Sphinx for beta-ing, even though I managed to scar you for life by sending you that list of every YuGiOh shipping known to the fandom. Seriously…very, very scary – its nine pages long, 10pt, and its got the name of each shipping title too (anyone who wants the full list, mention it in your review and I'll email it to you)!

I have a new AMV up on youtube. It's a tribute to all the siblings on YuGiOh. Go see! Link is (remove spaces)

http // uk . youtube . com / watch ? v (there should be an equals sign here but its not showing up) iuhyLXcSDrg

I hope that works. If it doesn't go to youtube and search for my penname. It's the same as on here (actually it's the same on pretty much any website I join). Anyway – Watch it! Comment it!

My reviewers are the most super special awesome people ever! Next chapter will be about New Year-ish. I'm going back to the UK for Christmas and I'll be in France for New Year, but at least we have internet in France so I will be able to update!

Merry Christmas everyone!


	11. Chapter 11: Interhouse Unity

**Disclaimer: **As Jack Sparrow would say, I'm borrowing…borrowing without asking, but with every intention of bringing it back!

**Chapter 11: Interhouse Unity**

Christmas came early to Hogwarts that year, the first snow falling heavily during the last week of November. As the rest of the common room began heading outside for snowball fights, Yugi, Ryou and Malik had been quite content to stay indoors and work through their second year spells and potions, once again, determined to complete everything before the deadline at the end of term.

Malik had originally been overjoyed at the sight of snow, as he had never seen it before in his life except in photographs. He had quickly found however that the temperature did not agree with him, and he opted to stay indoors. Yugi had seen snow a few times in Japan, but shared the Egyptian's sentiment when it came to the cold. Ryou however, was perfectly used to the freezing temperatures, and was very content to take walks about the lake in two feet of the thick fluffy white stuff.

Yami and Bakura however were another matter entirely. They had both _seen_ snow before, having spent the last few years of their spiritual lives living in Japan or England. There had been one snowfall since Yugi had solved the Puzzle, and Bakura, though unable to communicate with Ryou at the time, had seen snow the year before his host had moved to Japan. However they had never actually been out in it themselves, and considering they still had trouble grasping the concept of frozen water falling from the sky, they were rather weary of it. Yami had been observed running in and out of the Entrance Hall doors one morning, apparently losing his nerve every time he tried to put his foot into the strange white crunchy stuff. Throughout all this, Yugi had just rolled on his soul room floor laughing himself silly.

The stalemate with the weather had lasted until that afternoon after lessons, when Harry, Ron and Hermione had dragged their foreign friends outside for a snowball fight. There was another week of term left, and so the homework had eased up slightly. They had returned an hour later for a late dinner, wet and shivering, but otherwise happy. Malik and Bakura had ended up wrestling each other in the snow, and Yugi had been beaten mercilessly with snowballs by Harry and Ron, at least until Yami decided to take over and fight back with magic. After a hasty change and shower, the majority of the group headed off to the Room of Requirement for the evenings DA meeting. With the Quidditch season over for the term, and the pitch being snowed under, they no longer had to work meetings around the different practises, a fact which everyone was pleased about.

"Okay everyone, listen up," Harry announced. Everyone in the Room of Requirement immediately stopped talking and turned to look at him. Today there were roaring fires, which were lit in fireplaces here and there around the walls. It was beside one of these that Yugi and Ryou were now huddled, nervously watching the door. Malik was late to the meeting. For once in their stay at Hogwarts, he was out of dinner before desert had been served, saying that he had work to do before the meeting. As they were all up to date on homework, and they had almost completed their second year work, neither Yugi nor Ryou had any idea what he was up to.

Harry drew everyone's attention to a small carved box made of sandalwood. It actually belonged to Malik and was where he housed his spare Duel Monsters cards. Everyone had woken up that morning to find Malik kneeling on his bed, still in his pyjamas, alternating between prodding the box with the Rod and his wand. Apparently he had picked it up and it had started rattling loudly. They had eventually deducted that there was a Boggart inside after Ron had kicked the lid open and a large spider had popped out. Malik had found the whole thing hilarious, and had spent the whole morning doing impressions of Ron screaming. Harry had eventually asked if he could borrow the box and its new tenant for the meeting. A bemused Malik had agreed.

"We found a Boggart in our dormitory this morning," Harry explained. "I thought this would be a good chance to…"

He paused as the door opened and Malik came racing in. His face was flushed in excitement and he beamed as he spotted his friends.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, elbowing his way through the first years and over to his friends. "Go ahead Harry."

Harry was intrigued as to the grin on Malik's face, but explanations would have to wait. He had a class to teach.

"Okay, basically I thought this would be a good time to practise patronuses properly. I'll stand in front of it, so that it turns into a Dementor, and then you guys can queue up behind me and hit it with your patronus on your turn."

"Won't it make you feel…well, like crap if you stand there too long?" Seamus asked. Harry grinned.

"I have faith in you all," he said. "If per chance I do pass out or something, just remember it's only a Boggart. Everyone above the third year knows how to get rid of them. So anyone who thinks they are ready to try can queue up over there."

Immediately the DA members who had been attending the year before lined up to one side of the room, along with a couple of the newer members who felt that they were ready. Most of them were above the fourth year. Yugi looked up at his two friends.

"You guys ready?" he asked. Ryou looked nervous, but nodded all the same. Malik beamed.

"Hell yeah!" he said, drawing out his wand. "We've practised, I'm sure we'll be fine!"

They had started patronuses in the previous sessions. Malik had come the furthest, being able to produce a faint shadow of an animal. But then again, he always did better under pressure, so he figured that he would be able to do it properly this time. Ryou, who was the complete opposite, always doing worse under pressure, gulped a little. There was a faint mental prod in his head.

//_Hikari are you sure you want to do this? You remember what happened last time you were in front of a Dementor?_//

/_They'll affect me even if I'm in my soul room though won't they Bakura?_/ Ryou pointed out. /_At least this way I'm learning how to defend myself_/

Harry was moving the box into position, and ordering everyone who was not practising to stand by the walls and watch. Ryou drew his attention back to the box. Behind him, he heard Yugi stifle a yawn. The tri-colour haired duellist was still having nightmares, but he was determined not to take a dreamless sleep potion every night. To help, Ryou had looked up how to make dreamless sleep potions, so that Yugi would not have to return to Madam Pomfrey often. He was rather pleased to find that he was getting very good at brewing them. He felt more useful at any rate. Yet despite this, Yugi stubbornly only took a potion once a week on average, and the dreams kept coming.

Ryou was sure that he and Malik were being affected too, though not as badly as Yugi and Yami. But whenever he woke up, even if his sleep had been dreamless, he still felt a lingering feeling of foreboding in his stomach, which could only mean that the Orichalcum was still in the building. Ryou guessed because of Yugi's direct involvement with the Orichalcos in the past and his soul being captured were all the reasons why the King of Games was suffering worse than they were.

Yugi yawned again, and Ryou shared a look with Malik. The Egyptian leaned in to whisper, but Ryou cut him off quickly.

"I'm making him take one tonight," he said. "I don't care how much he protests. He needs a good nights sleep."

Malik nodded, just as Yugi looked up and smiled at them both.

"So why were you late Malik? What was with the rushing off in the middle of dinner?"

At this Malik beamed happily.

"I got the duel disks working!" he said. Yugi and Ryou looked thrilled at the news.

"That's great!" Yugi said, looking more alive and awake than he had at all in the last six weeks. "And we've got a Hogsmeade trip tomorrow too! We can try them out then!"

"Check you haven't got rusty Pharaoh," Bakura teased, appearing in spirit form, a smirk present on his face. Yami phased out next to Yugi, arms folded, and eyes narrowed.

"I promise you Bakura, I have in no ways, 'got rusty', as I proved the other week when we were duelling in the Common Room."

"I meant duelling properly," Bakura clarified. "Monsters roaring at each other…the light shows whenever the spell cards are played…the breath of the Resentment Spirit as it hovers around Dark Sanctuary…"

He trailed off, a faraway look on his face which caused everyone to sweat drop.

"Not that you've been thinking about this obsessively for the past few weeks," Ryou said dryly folding his arms and regarding his other with a raised eyebrow. Yugi and Malik burst out laughing and Bakura frowned at his host. Unbeknown to them, their conversation had attracted Hermione's attention, and she was now frowning at them.

"Who on Earth was Ryou talking to?" she wondered. She was about to point this out to Ron, when there was a knock at the door of the Room. Everyone stopped and turned to look, and Harry hurried to the door.

He could hardly believe his eyes.

Standing on the threshold were two girls, both fifth years from the looks of them. What shocked Harry the most was the green trim on their school ties, which indicated that they were Slytherin students. They both looked nervous, as though they were tempting fate by being there.

"Harry Potter?" one of them asked, clearly the bolder of the two.

"That's me," Harry sighed, wondering how on Earth you supposed to respond to that question when all the Wizarding World knew your name.

"Is this where the DA meet?" the girl asked. Harry nodded.

"We want to join," the other said, before glancing nervously up and down the corridor. "Can we come in please?"

By now the rest of the group had gathered closer and were listening intently. There was a mutter of distrust as Harry let them in. Both girls looked extremely uncomfortable at the eyes on them. The first girl had dark brown hair and the second was blonde. The brunette definitely seemed the more confident of the two.

"What the hell are two Slytherin's doing here?" Michael Corner asked, clearly not trusting this one bit. His sentiment was clearly shared as a few people were glaring at the girls. Never before had any of the Slytherin's shown any sign of wanting to join the DA.

"Michael," Harry warned. He didn't trust them either, but he had to keep reminding himself that he was only acting off his prejudice against the house.

"We want to join the DA," the brown haired girl said. "We want to learn to fight."

"Aren't you all You-Know-Who stooges in Slytherin?" a fifth year Hufflepuff boy asked. The blonde girl dropped her eyes to the ground and the brunette ground her teeth.

"Not all of us," she snapped angrily. "We know you all hate our guts, but believe it or not all of us want to see You-Know-Who take over the world."

"Coulda fooled me," Ron muttered.

"Yeah, how do we know you aren't spies?" Dean asked, folding his arms accusingly. The brunette rolled her eyes.

"Slytherin's are picked for their cunning," she said. "I think if we were trying to get information out of you all, we could think up something a little more inventive than this."

"You're all cunning little snakes aren't you?" another Hufflepuff interjected. "None of you have ever given us a reason to trust you before. Why should we now?"

The brunette went to open her mouth to retort, but the blonde haired girl finally snapped.

"You don't know what its like!" she said angrily. "If you aren't a Death Eater in that house you're just as bad as everyone else! You can't have a free conversation in the Slytherin Common room because you're too afraid that someone's going to come and beat you up the next day! We're in just as much danger as the rest of you."

She trailed off, as if realising how loudly she'd been shouting, and returned to facing the floor. Everyone remained silent. They were slightly shocked by her outburst. Eventually the brunette spoke up again.

"Just give us both a chance. If you teach us how to defend ourselves, we'll give you information on what's going on in the Slytherin Common room."

That caught everyone's attention.

"You'd betray your house just like that?" Harry asked. The brunette fixed him with a scowl.

"As we've made pretty clear already, we're not exactly thrilled to be part of our house."

Everyone studied the newcomers with mixtures of suspicion and curiosity. The tension was so thick that you needed a chainsaw to cut it. Finally Harry made the decision for everyone.

"Can either of you two do conjure a Patronus?"

The brunette replied. "Only an indistinct one." Her blonde companion just shook her head.

"Okay, if you think you want to give it a go, join the queue. If not, go stand with the spectators."

The conversation in the room picked up slowly again. A few of the fifth years approached the two Slytherins cautiously. Ginny began talking to the brunette while they queued for the Boggart, while Colin led the blonde to the side.

"Are you sure about this Harry?" Ron asked, as soon as he was within earshot. "They could be spies."

"Call it a hunch Ron," Harry said. "But I think they're sincere."

"I don't think they're spying," Yugi piped up. "I don't sense any dark magic, or the same malevolence that I felt around Malfoy and Snape. I think they genuinely want to learn."

Harry was surprised at Yugi's comment, but then he remembered that Yugi could apparently sense the Orichalcos too, so maybe he could sense malevolent energy.

"Well I for one think it's a good thing," Hermione said brightly. "Interhouse unity. Isn't that what the Sorting Hat has been advising us to do for the past two years?"

"And this way," Malik pointed out. "We've got reports on Malfoy's movements. Just in case he brings in any more Orichalcum."

Harry decided to get the practise started, and so he caught everyone's attention. He stood a little way ahead of the queue, and about ten feet away from the box. His wand was at the ready, and he was squaring himself.

"Everyone ready?" he asked. There was a murmur of assent, and Harry took a deep breath before flicking his wand at the box. The lid shot open and a Dementor flew out of the box, its hood up and its breath sucking all the air from the room. The lights flickered and died, and everyone's breath began to rise in clouds of mist.

Even at this distance, the transfers could hear the beginnings of their worst memories begin to play out in their minds. Yugi and Yami's nightmares were echoing around in their minds and Yugi shook his head as if trying to dispel water from his hair. Ryou was keeping a hold on his emotions, gripping his wand so that his knuckles were white. His own screams, coupled with the ones Bakura could hear in his own memory were unnerving him, but he managed to pull himself together. Malik bit his lip so hard that he drew blood. The skin on his back began to prickle and he began to mentally repeat to himself that it was just a memory, and it could no more hurt him than reading a book would. He suddenly had a mental image of a Dementor sitting in a sofa reading a book, and he chuckled to himself.

"Hey guys," he told his friends. "Laughing makes you feel better. Think of something funny."

Yugi frowned. Harry had told them that happy thoughts were the key to banishing a Dementor, so maybe laughing was the way to help. He cast about for some happy thoughts and immediately they landed on his friends. Tristan daring Joey to panty tank a random girl in the cafeteria, only to be chased out by her friends, all wielding bowls of rice pudding. He and Tea at the Domino Amusement Park, going down the water slides, laughing and cheering as they went. Playing Monster World against Ryou, with Malik poking his figurine and complaining that it looked nothing like him. Teaching Yami what the vacuum cleaner was for, only to have the paranoid spirit send it to the Shadow Realm when he switched it on…

//_That was not my fault!_// the Pharaoh retorted. Yugi just giggled and he did indeed feel better as he entertained the image in his mind.

He had hardly noticed that the line was moving forward until he realised that Ron, who was only one person ahead of him, was casting his patronus. Harry looked to be holding up well. So far about seven corporal patronuses had been cast, while everyone else had managed shield forms. The faint remains of the last two to have been cast were still flying around the Boggart-Dementor, keeping it in check.

Ron stood behind his friend, brandished his wand and shouted "Expecto Patronum!"

A cloud of silver erupted from the end of his wand and solidified to form a small terrier, which growled and snapped at the fake Dementor. Ron looked very pleased with his accomplishment, and went to stand at the side of the room with the others who had taken their turns.

"Brilliant Ron!" Harry said. The sight of so many people succeeding appeared to be keeping him happy enough to resist the Dementor's effects. Along with the patronuses that were still around, Harry was no worse for the wear. "Next up!"

Hermione hurried forward, her face a mask of determination. Some quick wand work later and a silvery sea otter joined Ron's terrier. Hermione hurried off and Yugi found himself behind Harry. He swallowed his nerves, and forced his mind back to his friends.

"Expecto Patronum!"

No identifiable animal appeared, just a cloud of silvery smoke. Yugi's shoulders slumped slightly, but he guessed than an indistinct Patronus was better than none at all.

"Good work Yugi," Harry encouraged. "Next person!"

Ryou went forward, feeling his nerves return to him. His wand work was fairly average. His real strength lay in Potions and Divination. He raised his wand, but the words seemed to get stuck in his throat, and his happy thoughts dissolved before his eyes.

//_Come on hikari!_// Bakura snapped, making him jump. //_Snap out of it will you? Just hex the Ra damned thing!_//

"E-expecto Patronum!"

Another cloud of mist, not quite as thick as Yugi's had been, appeared in front of him, but it was good enough for Ryou, who ducked out of the queue before Harry even had a chance to congratulate him.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Malik said happily, charging forward. "Expecto Patronum!"

A small furry mongoose, about the size of Ron's terrier appeared from the end of his wand. It scampered toward the Dementor bearing sharp silver teeth. Malik grinned.

"Cool!" he said, watching his patronus. Harry looked pleased too as the small mammal bounced around the Dementor, with the terrier and the sea otter beside it.

"Nice one Malik!" Malik took a bow before going to stand with his friends. Ryou looked disappointed at his lack of success, but Yugi was too cheered to care.

"Well we're almost there!" he said. "A bit more practise and we'll be able to do patronuses properly. It's awesome that you can do it already Malik!"

Malik shrugged. He hadn't told either of his friends, but in between homework and fixing up the duel disks, he had been practising conjuring a patronus. Though today was the first time he had managed it properly, he was glad that the extra practises had paid off. The last thing he wanted was to relive the memory from the train.

"What were you thinking of?" Ryou asked curiously. Malik grinned.

"When Ishizu took me into the city for the first time and I found the picture of the motorcycle. I knew then and there that I wanted to ride one!"

He looked so happy at the thought that Yugi and Ryou could not help but grin back at him.

"What were you guys thinking about?" Malik asked. Yugi smiled.

"Being trapped in Monster World."

"That doesn't sound too happy," Ryou pointed out. Yugi shrugged.

"That was the first time I got to see Yami face to face, so it was happy in a way. What about you Ryou? What did you think of?"

Ryou looked down at his feet. "I was thinking about my mother and sister, but then when it came to it...I just couldn't hang onto the image."

Yugi was about to reassure his friend, but a yell interrupted their conversation. One of the fourth year members was having trouble conjuring his patronus, and with no resistance the Boggart-Dementor had swooped up to Harry. The sixth year instructor raised his wand, but the creature seized him around the neck and began to lean in close.

"Expecto Patronum!" Ron yelled. His patronus reappeared, charging the Dementor and sending it flying away from his friend. Hermione's otter joined it not a second later, as Ron hurried to drag the gasping Harry away from the box.

"Somebody lock it up again!" Ron shouted. The Boggart shifted with a crack as it hovered before Seamus Finnagin, turning into a stern looking woman with sharp eyes. Seamus had clearly not been expecting this and staggered to a halt, as the woman began to shout at him in a heavily Irish accent.

"You cannot stay at Hogwarts Seamus! You shall spend the year at home!"

Yugi, Ryou and Dean hurried to their roommate and began to pull him away. The Boggart paused before changing again with a crack. The new image smirked and raised a bloody dagger. Ryou froze on the spot.

"No one betrays me landlord. Remember that!"

The Millennium Ring around the fake Bakura's neck flashed angrily. Yugi released Seamus into Dean's hands before returning to Ryou, standing in front of the petrified boy. The Boggart-Bakura's face shifted into a malicious sneer, before it vanished, changing instead to a beam of green light. Yugi felt sick as he recognised the image. Yami stood inside the Seal of Orichalcos, screaming in pain as he vanished. The light disappeared leaving a copy of Yugi's Millennium Puzzle hovering in midair. Yugi lunged for it as it plummeted to the ground and shattered into pieces. Even though he knew it was just an illusion, Yugi could not help but feel tears well up.

"Get back Yugi!" Malik ordered, striding before him, a furious look on his face. "Riddikulus!"

The Boggart cracked and shifted into another person, this time almost identical to Malik himself, save for the spiky hair, the glowing Eye of Horus on his forehead and the malicious gleam on his face. Yugi and Ryou gasped in fear.

"I told you you were weak without me hikari!" Marik sneered, the sadistic glint in his eye sparkling at the sight of his former host. Malik glared at him.

"Screw you! Riddikulus!"

The Boggart was suddenly swamped by purple shadows and Malik grinned at the sight. With another loud crack, the shape shifter exploded loudly into nothingness.

"Hmm…satisfying," Malik mused aloud, before turning to his friends. Yugi and Ryou were back on their feet, both looking rather upset. Behind them, Seamus was in a similar state.

"You all okay?" Malik asked.

"Fine," Yugi nodded, but he didn't look Malik in the eye as he said this. He focused instead on the rest of the DA. Harry was up again, moving around and checking that everyone was okay after fighting off the fake Dementor.

"We're alright," Seamus said. "Thanks for the help Malik. Sorry you all had to see my mother like that."

"That was your mother?" Malik asked in surprise. Seamus nodded.

"Last year she didn't want me to come back here," he said. "Didn't want me to this year either. She wanted me to stay at home where it was safer. Course really its probably safer here with Dumbledore than it is out there."

Yugi, Ryou and Malik exchanged looks. Considering what had happened at the Quidditch match the other week, they were tempted to disagree with Seamus's sentence. But considering no one else knew what had happened save for Harry, Ron and Hermione, it wouldn't be the best idea to tell Seamus.

"What about you three?" Seamus asked. "What were your fears all about?"

Yugi gulped before answering. "If it's okay with you Seamus, we'd rather not talk about it. Just some really really bad memories."

Seamus raised an eyebrow, but remembering how upset Yugi and Ryou had been when their fears had appeared, he decided not to press. Malik just smiled before going to retrieve his box of cards.

"Are you four alright?" Harry asked. "I'm sorry you all had to go through that."

Seamus just waved it off with a smile, but Yugi and Ryou diverted their gazes to the ground, looking rather miserable.

"It's not a problem Harry," Malik said breezily. "I for one relished the chance to do that."

"Speak for yourself," Ryou muttered bitterly. He was feeling rather short tempered, and his other half was mentally prodding him. Bakura clearly wanted to talk about this and he wanted to talk now.

"Okay I think we should call it a day now," Harry said. "We've had enough excitement for one lesson. Our last meeting before the holidays will be sometime next week. We'll send you a message on the coins with the times. Until then, keep practising."

"Harry," Ginny caught his attention as the rest of the DA began to leave the room. "Zara and Cali need coins."

The two new Slytherin students were trailing behind the redhead. Harry nodded and went to talk to Hermione, who kept the spares.

"We'll meet you guys at back at the Common room," Yugi said, before dragging his two friends out of the room.

"Well that was uncomfortable," Ryou summarised as they left the corridor.

"Very," Yugi agreed. "That was…horrible. I had no idea that the Boggart would do that."

"I did," Malik admitted. "I've been reading up on how to deal with them. After this morning when Harry asked if he could borrow the box I looked up the spell to banish them."

"Are you alright Malik?" Yugi asked. "I mean really, alright?"

"Yeah," Malik nodded. "To tell the truth I'm glad I had the chance to do that. The Boggart wasn't exactly clear."

"What do you mean?" Ryou asked. "You don't fear your yami?"

"Not really," Malik shrugged. "I fear him returning, but I don't fear him. It's hard to fear something that is you in a sense. I think the Boggart got that wrong. It didn't really show him returning. It just showed _him_, so I wasn't afraid. Does that make sense?"

"…in a way…" Yugi said. In truth it was a bit confusing.

Malik expelled the guilty feeling that was nagging away at the back of his head. He was being honest. He didn't really fear Marik. After all, he knew that he had the power to banish him again. But ever since the train he had been wrestling with the fear that he might _need_ Marik, especially since learning about what had happened when the Orichalcos had taken Yugi away from Yami. If you couldn't live without the other half of your soul, then what did that mean for him? True Marik was not like Yami and Bakura. They were five thousand year old spirits, while his darker half was a personality fragment. But he was still a part of him. Did he need him to survive? Was he really just weak without him?

The three entered the common room. Most of the people there were finishing up homework, but a few were starting to drag themselves off for an early night. Neville, Dean and Seamus were sitting by the fire, having a conversation about what they had learned that evening, which meant that the boys dormitory was free when the transfers entered it.

"Is that what its like?" Ryou asked Yugi timidly, sitting down on his bed. "When the Orichalcos takes someone's soul?"

Yugi nodded miserably, until he felt hands on his shoulder. He looked up, expecting to see Malik. Instead he found Yami standing there in spirit form. The Pharaoh looked sadly down at his other half.

"Yugi…Aibou. I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

Yugi smiled gratefully, before busying himself rummaging through his trunk. Malik slumped back on his bed and started drawing hieroglyphs in the air with his wand. Ryou turned to see his own yami sitting beside him, also in spirit form. For a second he thought that the Tomb Robber was going to make some smart comment at the Pharaoh. Bakura however was looking at him instead.

"Yes Bakura?" Ryou sighed. "What's wrong?"

"You know perfectly well what's wrong," Bakura said, folding his arms and looking sternly at his hikari. Ryou sighed.

"Look it doesn't matter now, so can we leave it please?" he asked wearily. "So my worst fear is you being…"

"An ass?" Malik suggested helpfully.

"Thank you Malik," Ryou said, in a tone that stated that the Egyptian was not helping. "I was going to say 'angry'. It's not a big deal."

"Well I'd say since I'm living in your head," Bakura retorted. "It is a big deal."

Ryou scowled, before pulling the curtains of his bed closed. Yugi quickly removed his language patch.

"I think they need to argue this out," he advised Malik. "Ryou would probably feel better if we didn't listen."

Inside the curtains, Ryou pointedly ignored Bakura as he pulled his pyjamas on.

"I can understand Ryou," Bakura said. The albino snorted.

"Don't snort at me," Bakura warned. "I know I was an ass."

"Then why are you so surprised that it's my greatest fear?" Ryou asked. "I was under the impression that was what you wanted. For me to be scared of you. I was so much easier to control if I was afraid wasn't I?"

He was feeling uncharacteristically angry at the spirit, and it was only after a second that he realised that it was probably the Orichalcos doing the talking. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself, but the anger just flared brighter.

"Ryou that's not the point. I haven't touched you once since I got back from the Shadow Realm," Bakura continued. "Even being stuck in a castle with the magic of the Orichalcos putting us in bad moods I haven't laid a hand on you. So why are you still afraid?"

"Why do you care anyway?!" Ryou burst out. "I'm just your landlord…the vessel that lets you exist in this world! I'm weak remember? You hate me and you made that perfectly clear plenty of times before."

He threw himself under the covers and waved his wand. The candle went out a second later. Ryou muttered some very un-Ryou like language in his head, realising that he had blown up, just as the Orichalcos intended. There was a glow from the Millennium Ring around his neck, and Ryou looked up to see Bakura still sitting there. He looked strangely eerie in the dim light.

"Ryou…Ryou," he shook him by the shoulder. The hikari grumbled and rolled over.

"What?" he asked, but in a slightly gentler voice than he had been before.

"I don't…I don't hate you," Bakura managed to get out. Ryou's eyes went wide.

"What?"

"Please don't make me repeat myself," Bakura groaned. "It's just…oh Ra this is difficult…"

He trailed off before getting a grip on what he wanted to say.

"When I was first released from the Ring, I'd been sitting in darkness for five thousand years. I'd had nothing to brew on but the idea of revenge against the Pharaoh. After a while I could not even remember what for. At first I thought it was because he sealed me away for so long. But during Battle City I started to remember why I hated him. And once I remembered that I started to remember other things."

Ryou was tempted to ask what had happened to make Bakura hate Yami so much, but he decided not to press him. Bastet clawed her way onto the bed and crawled over to Bakura. The thief tried to pet her, only to have his ghostly hand go straight through her.

"While we were locked away in the Shadow Realm after Battle City, I had some time to think. I realised that the reason I hated you was because you reminded me of everything that I could have been." He looked fondly at Bastet before looking at Ryou. "You heard me mention my mother and sisters before. I lost them when I was only eight."

Ryou felt a wave of sympathy for Bakura, but the link was smothered as his yami rejected the pity.

"I wonder, if they had not died that day, how I would have turned out? What kind of person would I have been if I had not grown up with my heart bent on revenge? The answer is…probably like you."

The words caused the questions and answers to collide in Ryou's mind with all the force of Obelisk the Tormentor's Fist of Fury. When his yami looked at him he saw himself, the kind of person he was before he lost everything.

"At first I hated you even more," Bakura admitted. "It was like rubbing salt into an open wound. Like the Gods were saying '_this is what you could have been like if your life hadn't been so screwed up'_. But I found I just couldn't take it out on you. I think I understand why now. I've heard Yugi mentioning some of the things that the Pharaoh did when he was released. But eventually under Yugi's influence, his psychotic streak vanished. The light exists to balance the darkness. That's what you're doing to me Ryou. You're balancing me."

The explanation left Ryou sitting there, his head spinning. Not only was this the most sincere that Bakura had ever sounded in the years he had known him, but it was also the saddest he had ever seen his yami look.

"But…" Ryou trailed off. "I lost my family too. I lost Mum and Amane, and God knows my father's never really around. How can I be the kind of person you could have been if we lost the same thing?"

He wasn't trying to compare his loss to Bakura's and the yami understood that. But Bakura shook his spiky silver head anyway.

"You lost your mother and sister too, but I let my anger and my lust for revenge take control of me, until I…" he trailed off shaking his head again. "I don't even remember what I did that lead to me being sealed. It's the one black spot of my memory left. But either way, the difference between us is that you didn't let the deaths take over your life. You moved on and carried on with your life."

Ryou sank against the pillows, feeling his sadness becoming amplified by the feelings of his yami and, he mused, probably by the Orichalcum in the building too. He'd wondered before whether he and Bakura were more alike than they realised, but he had not realised just how much alike. They had both lost their families, and they both still mourned them. He could tell there was more to Bakura's story, but he didn't want to ask more. This was an understanding that the two had never had before, and he did not want to shatter it.

"Don't get me wrong," Bakura said, suddenly sounding a lot like his normal self. "I still hate the Pharaoh, and I'd like nothing more than to see him suffer. And hell, I still like stealing. It's been in my blood too long. If anyone threatens you, or me, I will rip their souls from their mutilated bodies. I am the darkness and I can't change that. But taking over the world would mean destroying you…and I won't let the part of me that wasn't corrupted by revenge vanish again."

Ryou looked sadly at the blanket, and at Bastet, who was now plodding towards him. He bit back tears.

"Why did they have to die Bakura?" he asked, scooping the cat up into his lap. Bakura could see the tears shining in his hikari's eyes.

"I don't know," he said. "Everyone dies eventually. There's nothing we can do about that. It's not fair, and we never have enough time to say goodbye, or get over it."

"Will we see them again?" Ryou asked. Bakura shrugged.

"I don't know," he said truthfully. "I don't know what happens after death. I died, but I was stuck in the Ring. All I know is I spent most of the last five thousand years thinking…no, _knowing_, that death would be better than the imprisonment."

And even though he did not actually say it, Ryou knew that his yami was thanking him.

OOO

"Come on come on come on come on come on!"

"How many times are you going to repeat that sentence exactly?" Ron asked. Malik ignored him and continued to bounce like a hyperactive kid. The six students were making their way around Hogsmeade. All of them were exceptionally glad to be away from the castle, and more specifically the Orichalcum. As they trudged through the snow there was an air of excitement surrounding all three transfers. Along with the jumpers, jackets, scarves, gloves, cloaks and hats, they were also each sporting their duel disks on their arms, each one modified by a combination of spell work on Yugi and Malik's part, and Shadow Magic courtesy of the Items.

"Come on! I want to duel already!" Malik said. "The path widens up by the Shrieking Shack enough for us to use the holograms. The sooner we get there the sooner we can duel. Come on!"

"Seriously when will you stop saying that?" Harry asked.

"When we get there!" Malik said. "We haven't used the duel disks for months! You do not know how much it has killed us to wait this long!"

"I have to admit, I can't wait to test them out," Yugi admitted. "They'll probably look more realistic since we're using magic. No offence to Kaiba's technology of course."

"You all look happy enough to conjure a patronus with no troubles," Hermione observed. Yugi and Ryou exchanged glances, and identical grins popped onto their faces as they pulled out their wands.

"Expecto Patronum!"

From the explosion of smoke, a falcon soared out of the end of Yugi's wand. It flew twice around him before taking off towards the sky, fading from sight as it went.

"I did it!" Yugi beamed. "I actually did it!"

"Well done Yugi," Harry congratulated. "Ryou?"

The albino smiled. With the opportunity to use the duel disks, and the apparently improving relationship with his yami, he felt like he could do anything.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A silvery cat pounced into the snow. Ryou grinned as the apparition jumped around playfully a few times before melting into the snow.

"Cool!" Malik grinned.

"Good job," Harry said approvingly. "If you've done it once, it's easier to do it the next time. You two should have no problems at the next DA meeting."

Yugi and Ryou exchanged smiles, before Malik interrupted.

"Right come on! We're almost there!"

The street that led off to the Shrieking Shack was visible up ahead. Unlike the crowded High Street, which was packed with Hogwarts students and villagers alike, the pathway appeared empty. As they passed the Three Broomsticks, the scent of Butterbeer wafted out, making all their mouths water.

"After the games," Malik promised.

"Loser has to pay," Ryou said teasingly, making sure to look directly at Malik as he said this.

"What?" the Egyptian asked. "Why are you looking at me like that Ryou?"

"No reason," Ryou said innocently. "I was just hoping you had bought lots of money with you…"

He trailed off as underneath the layers of clothing, the pointers of the Millennium Ring began to move about uncomfortably.

"Are you implying that I am going to lose?" Malik asked pretending to sound offended. "Well I have never been so insulted in my life! I shall have to defend my duelling honour!"

"Ryou?" Yugi asked, as Bakura took over and began to unzip his host's jacket.

"What in Ra's name are you doing?" Malik asked, forgetting completely about 'defending his duelling honour'. "You'll freeze…"

"This is important," Bakura said shortly, digging his hand down the jumper and shirt, and fishing out the chord of the Ring.

"What's going on?" Harry asked.

"We have no idea," Yugi said truthfully, but his eyes widened as Bakura finally pulled out the Ring. The pointers were pointing directly ahead of them.

"Isn't that your Ring?" Hermione asked. "What's it doing?"

"It's sensed something…again?" Malik asked, remembering the last time that the Ring had done this. Bakura nodded, lifting the Item up with one hand, the other re-zipping his jacket. His hands froze and his eyes locked on the street ahead.

"Two figures in black at twelve o clock," he said in an undertone. Everyone turned and squinted.

"Where?" Harry asked urgently.

"You sure your scarf isn't too tight Bakura?" Malik asked. Bakura growled.

"The side street between the shops you moron," he muttered. Everyone followed his directions and felt dread settle over them. Bakura was right. Two Death Eaters stared back at them. They were about twenty feet up the path, but in between all the buildings on the High Street they had not been spotted by the busy shoppers (in fact Harry wondered briefly whether they were the only ones that could see them). At the same time, Yugi felt a familiar sick feeling rise up in his throat.

"One of them…no, both of them have shards of Orichalcum," he said. "I think they might be using it to make themselves unnoticeable by everyone else."

"Should we run or go see what they want?" Malik asked.

No one was sure whether he was serious or not. However the decision was made for them however, as one of the Death Eaters pulled out his wand and pointed it at them. All six students froze in their place. The Death Eater jerked his head up the pathway, before backing away.

"He wants us to follow," Ron summarised. "What should we do?"

Harry thought hard for a second, before pulling out his wand. He had only ever seen this done once before, but he knew in theory how it was supposed to work. He concentrated on the message he wanted to deliver, before muttering, "Expecto Patronum."

The Death Eaters jumped and raised their wands, but the stag was too quick for them. It galloped away back into the High Street, leaving the six students and the two Death Eaters locked in a staring match. Finally the Death Eater, who had pointed his wand at them, got impatient and fired a spell. Everyone jumped away, as a thin golden ribbon of magic wrapped around Yugi's wrist and tried to tug him towards the street. The boy yelped and there was a glow from the Puzzle and the spell was broken. Yugi shakily, put the De-spell card back into his deck box.

"We'd better go," Hermione said, though she sounded petrified, as she took out her own wand. "Before they stun us or something."

Everyone began to trek slowly through the snow-covered pathway. But the Death Eaters were not going too far. About half way between the village and the Shrieking Shack they stopped before turning to face the students and pulling off their masks.

"Rudolphus Lestranges!" Harry muttered, remembering the man from the Ministry the previous June. The Death Eater smirked.

"Nice to see you remember me Potter. But for once it is not you we have business with. Not yet anyway. Ivan if you would."

The second Death Eater stepped forward. He looked in his mid-twenties, with black hair just visible underneath his hood. His cold grey eyes were machine like, and they settled on the three transfers with a smirk.

"For three of the top five duellists, you certainly don't look like much," he taunted.

"What do you want with us?!" Yugi demanded furiously.

"Revenge for my wife!" Rudolphus yelled back. "You three shall pay for what you did to her over the summer!"

"His wife?" Ryou asked in confusion.

"Bellatrix Lestranges," Hermione said. "She's in an irreversible coma in St Mungo's!"

Yugi's eyes opened wide at this information. He remembered where he had heard the name before now. Dumbledore had mentioned it to them at the start of term feast. Bellatrix was the Death Eater who had played the Seal of Orichalcos during the attack on Domino Park.

The sleeve on Ivan's left arm was suddenly pulled back to reveal what looked like a huge human skull. The jaw flicked open sideways like a grotesque puppet, and a snake of the same colour suddenly extended sideways from within. The snake's body began to glow, forming five separate box shapes. Yugi, Ryou and Malik realised with shock that it was a duel disk! A Death Eater duel disk in the shape of the Dark Mark.

"Prepare to duel! And to lose your souls!" Ivan shouted gleefully.

* * *

**A/N: **Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all had a good Christmas!

I need to give my beta the biggest hug in the world for getting this back to me so quickly! You are the most awesome person ever!

There will be a duel in the next chapter! Yay!

Anyone who wants to see my fanart for this chapter, head to the following address (remove the spaces)

http / mei1105 . deviantart . com

Okay I know after that little scene with Ryou and Bakura you're all probably looking at me with raised eyebrows. I would like to reiterate that this will not be a shonenai fanfic. I love yami/hikari pairings to death, but I know they aren't everyone's cup of tea, hence why I'm staying away from any serious romance in this story. The most you will ever see between the yamis' and the hikaris' in this fic is brotherly love. The only way you're going to see Puzzle or Tendershipping is if you turn around three times, run into a wall twice, shut your head in a window and then squint really really REALLY hard at the screen.

On that note, if I do hint to any pairings in this story, they will most likely be Harry x Ginny, Ron x Hermione, Yugi x Tea (Peachshipping) and probably Joey x Mai (Polarshipping). Please note, these are pairings that we definitely know are canon or are very close to being canon, and that is all you will ever see in this story (if you want to argue with me on my opinions of what classes as canon then by all means go ahead).

The reason for the little scene between Ryou and Bakura is because I felt I was throwing them into the story and giving Bakura a totally new personality in which he is actually civil. If you think about it, the last we will have seen of our beloved Tomb Robber is when he vanished into the Shadow Realm after Battle City. And now I've had him suddenly come back far mellower than ever. So I'm trying to justify it in this scene and provide explanations so that it doesn't sound too out there. The idea of the hikari balancing the yami should not be too farfetched, after all this is what happened with Yugi and Yami.

THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE FIC PEOPLE!

So now I've stressed that fact to within an inch of its life…

I just noticed something! When I'm in France, the icon in my bio page changes to reflect that! I know it's not that fascinating to you guys, but I think that's really cool!

…yeah I've had too much sugar tonight. Must be New Year…

On the plus side, it means everyone now knows when I'm on holiday and when I'm not. I love visiting France during the holidays, but if I could strangle our Dial up connection without looking psychotic I would! It's slow and annoying, and my parents are shooting me filthy looks because I've been on it so long! So I'll be going now. Hope everyone has a great New Years Eve!

Don't forget to review! That will do more for me than a sugar high ever could!


	12. Chapter 12: Army of Machines

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, YuGiOh or any of the Duel Monster cards used in this chapter (actually that's a lie, I own copies of a few of the spellcasters :: grin ::)

On duelling rules: I will be playing to the YuGiOh Trading Card Game rules. This means each players start with 8000 life points. Monsters can be normal summoned in face up attack or facedown defence, but not in face up defence. All the cards will have TCG rulings, except for Card of Sanctity, which will be going by the anime ruling. Cards that only appear in the anime will of course be following their anime rulings. These rules will be applied to all the duels in my fic from this point onward.

This is my first stab at a full length duel…well, this is my first published attempt at a full length duel (my previous attempts were really REALLY crap and written back when I barely knew the rules). I have tried to follow the card and gaming rules to the best of my knowledge, but if I've made a huge mistake anywhere I apologise.

**Chapter 12: The Army of Machines**

The distant sounds of the people in the village were all that could be heard as the six students looked in disbelief at the two Death Eaters. The one named Ivan stood, with his duel disk extended, and his deck already loaded, the thrill of a challenge evident on his face. He was eyeing each of the duellists up, his gaze resting for a long time on Yugi. Next to him, Rudolphus Lestrange had his eyes fixed on Harry, his wand still clutched in his hand. Although their orders were to duel the three transfers and capture their souls, he knew he would be a fool to let his master's greatest foe escape from his grasp.

"So, which of you will be the first victim of the Orichalcos?" Ivan challenged. "Each of you have duel disks, so you have no excuse."

Yugi, Ryou and Malik all looked down at their duel disks, before exchanging glances with each other. Finally Yugi made up his mind, and stepped forward. There was no way he was going to let any of his friends fight this man. He had confidence in both of their abilities, but he knew that they had never been in an Orichalcos duel before. It would be better for them to watch this one rather than getting thrown straight in.

"I'll duel you," Yugi said, reaching for his own deck and slotting it into place.

"Yugi are you sure about this?" Ryou cautioned.

"Positive," Yugi replied, turning to give them both a reassuring smile.

"So a match with the King of Games huh?" Ivan smirked. "This will be a real test of strength. I shall relish collecting your soul for my master Yugi."

Yugi seemed to pause for a second, and when he looked up, his eyes were narrow and crimson, and he seemed to have grown by a few inches. Yami glared at the man, before unclipping his cloak and throwing it to Ryou. It would just hamper his movement.

"You will never lay a hand on my soul," he said. "_Or my Aibou's." _he added silently. "Let's duel!"

The duel disk whirred into life, the familiar weight on his arm giving the Pharaoh a small shred of comfort. The wings of the disk slotted into place, forming the monster card zones, and revealing the slots for the spell and trap cards. The life point counters on both disks set to eight thousand.

"Before we begin," Ivan said, nodding to his companion. Rudolphus smirked before pointing his wand at the five spectators. Before any of them could move, thick ropes shot from the end, forcing them all into the snow and binding their arms to their sides.

"What's the deal?!" Bakura snapped, taking over angrily.

"You didn't think we'd let the rest of you run off did you?" Rudolphus said. "Now each of you can have a front seat view of your friend losing his soul."

He nodded at Ivan, who began to draw his opening hand. Yami quickly did the same, an uncomfortable bout of worry surging through him. His soul, and Yugi's were both on the line, along with the safety of their friends.

"Since I issued the challenge, I shall go first," Ivan said, drawing his sixth card and smirking.

"Well this duel isn't going to last very long," he said. He selected one card and placed it on the disk.

"I begin with Robotic Knight (1600/1800) in attack mode."

Before the Death Eater appeared a robot made of a dark grey metal, with red, purple and gold armour plating. Yami frowned at it, and on the sidelines three of the five spectators jaws dropped.

"That's a duel monster?" Ron asked, looking in wonder at the magically advanced hologram in between the two duellists.

"That's a duel monster," Malik confirmed, exchanging a worried look with Bakura. They were both pulling the same conclusion about Ivan's deck.

"And now to power him up," Ivan said, pulling another card from his hand. "With ten thousand years worth of ancient magic."

"He can't have…" Bakura said in pure disbelief. On the other side of the field, Yami visibly flinched as Ivan opened the field card slot on his duel disk.

"You're putting yourself in danger too!" the Pharaoh reminded him. Ivan however did not hear.

"I activate the Seal of Orichalcos!"

The area in which they stood was suddenly filled with bright green light. A column of magic erupted from Ivan's duel disk before pushing itself out to surround both duellists. The captives on the ground all winced, but were unable to shield their eyes due to the bindings. Rudolphus laughed manically.

The Seal stopped growing, and the six-pointed star began to score itself into the ground. Yami looked up at Ivan to find the Death Eater standing completely still, his head bowed. Then as if in slow motion, his hood fell off to reveal the evil mark glowing on his forehead. His eyes had taken on a red gleam, and he looked completely mad.

"He played it," Bakura muttered angrily.

"Look!" Malik gasped, his eyes fixed on Ivan's Robotic Knight. The Seal had appeared on the monster's forehead, and its attack had jumped by five hundred points (2100).

"He drew the Seal on his first turn," Bakura said grimly. "And machine monsters can be tough enough without the extra power."

"This is…" Hermione trailed off, sounding utterly terrified.

"Voldemort's secret weapon," Malik finished, looking over his shoulder. "Yes. I just hope no one comes up this way to investigate the light show, or they'll be putting themselves in danger."

Everyone drew their attention back to the match, none of them eager to dwell on this horrifying prospect. Inside the duelling field, Ivan was chuckling menacingly.

"It has not been that long since you last duelled against the Seal Yugi, so I should not have to remind you of its effects."

"I remember," Yami growled. "Are you finished?"

"Hmm, anxious to lose your soul are you?" Ivan taunted. "By all means, go right ahead."

Yami bit back a snappy retort, instead drawing and studying his hand. Dark Magician Girl, Magical Dimension, Sages Stone, Queens Knight, Alpha the Magnet Warrior and Mirror Force were all present.

/_Not bad_/ Yugi remarked. Yami nodded in agreement.

//_Yes but with the Seal out we need to be careful. That thing gives him a serious advantage. I can't believe he drew it on his first turn…_//

/_And we don't have anything to take out his knight. Better play safe_/ Yugi suggested. Again Yami agreed before pulling Mirror Force and Queen's Knight free.

"I set one card facedown, one monster in defence mode and end my turn."

The holographic images appeared before him. Ron gave an impressed whistle. Next to Malik and Bakura, Harry was trying his best to follow the match, based on the few tabletop games he had seen between the transfers during the term so far. As far as he could work out, Yugi was playing defensively, trying to preserve his life points. He knew there was probably more to the game that he wasn't seeing, but he could bet that Malik and Ryou had both picked up on it. Ivan apparently thought so too.

"That's it?" the Death Eater asked, before snorting. "Cowering behind defence monsters and it's only your first turn?! I haven't seen anything this pathetic since I had a rich family of muggles cowering at my feet, begging to be spared."

"If you hate muggles so much, why do you play a muggle card game?" Yami asked, inwardly sickened by the man's apparent disregard for human life.

"Why?" Ivan asked, drawing a card. "For the simple reason that it's a powerful weapon! And once which is intimately linked with the magic of the Orichalcos! And speaking of powerful weapons, I summon Machine King Prototype!"

He slapped the card onto the duel disk, and another robot materialised next to Robotic Knight. This one was slightly smaller than Robotic Knight, with red and silver components making up the body, arms and legs. The cylinder shaped head had two bulbs where the ears would be on a human, and from the arms and legs, stray wires trailed along the ground. The Seal appeared a second later, boosting its attack to 2100.

"Machine King Prototype gains a hundred attack points for every machine monster on the field," Ivan said. "So that's an extra one hundred points from Robotic Knight."

Sure enough, the smaller robot suffered another growth spurt as its attack increased to 2200.

"Okay so it's a bigger lump of metal," Malik summarised, now fiddling with his magical bonds in agitation. "Yugi will still take it apart!"

On Ivan's forehead the Seal flared into life, and the Death Eater looked poisonously at the group, before turning his attention back to Yami.

"Robotic Knight, attack his facedown monster!"

The robot leaped forward.

/_Mirror Force?_/ Yugi asked. Yami mentally shook his head.

//_If he's using a machine deck he could have far worse in there. Mirror Force is too powerful to waste now. Better save it_//

Yugi gave a nod, and both of them winced as the knight punched straight through the facedown card. Queen's Knight gave a scream before vanishing.

"Machine King Prototype, attack him directly!" Ivan ordered. Yami braced himself as the miniature robot charged him and ploughed its fist into his stomach. Yami doubled over in pain. He had forgotten that because the Seal was on the field, the monsters were as real as they were, and it most definitely showed in the last attack.

Life Points

Yami: 5800

Ivan: 8000

"Ow!" Ron winced.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Hermione asked, looking horrified. Next to her Bakura rolled his eyes.

"What did you think the monsters did in this game?" he snapped, fidgeting with the bindings. He had already tried breaking the bindings with the magic of the Ring, to no avail. So now he was trying to reach his pocket where his knife and duelling deck were kept. Surely at least one of them would be able to help. Next to him, he could feel Malik trying to reach the Millennium Rod, which if he knew the Tomb Keeper, was hooked in his belt.

"Yugi had a facedown card," Harry said, remembering some of the previous duels he had watched between the transfers. "Why didn't he activate it when Ivan attacked?"

"Guess he didn't want to waste it," Malik remarked, wincing as he twisted his arm into a funny position in an attempt to reach his Millennium Item. When he noticed the curious looks he was getting he explained. "Machine decks tend to be mostly beatdown. The monsters focus is on strength as opposed to strategy. Most of them tend to have things like Machine King, which could really be a problem for Yugi. He might want to hold onto his more powerful traps for when the more powerful monsters are summoned."

Everyone present nodded in understanding, at the same point there were a series of cracks as a group of people appeared behind them. Dumbledore appeared in the snow, with several of the teachers behind him. All of them looked horrified as they took in the scene, including the Seal and the five students tied up on the ground. Rudolphus snarled loudly, and gripped something around his neck. A giant green shield, apparently a weak form of the Seal, appeared around him, as the teachers began trying to subdue him.

"Try all you like!" the Death Eater taunted. "I'm not going anywhere!"

While all this was going on, Dumbledore strode over to the five trussed up students and waved his wand. The bindings fell lose immediately, and all of them began to struggle to their feet.

"We received your message Harry," the headmaster assured him. "I don't think I need to ask what is going on."

Harry, Ron and Hermione leaped into explanations while Bakura and Malik approached the Seal. Malik reached it first, stretching out a hand and placing it on the side of the barrier. There was no way any of them could break through that. It would take magic of the same type to combat this. For now, all they could do was continue to watch. The poor teachers had given up trying to blast Rudolphus, and were now just holding him at wand point, while he continued to hide behind his shield.

Yami drew his next card and studied his hand, managing to hold back the wince. His options were not good. Right at the moment he could not go on the offence, as he did not have anything powerful enough. He set another card facedown and placed another monster in defence before waving Ivan on.

"What do you think?" Malik asked. He had seen the expression on the Tomb Robber's face, and he could tell that he was thinking hard. Bakura opened his mouth to reply.

"He's not playing on top form," he said bluntly. "And if my Ring is correct, which it always is, he's doubting himself."

"He's worried he's going to lose Yugi again," Malik deducted. "I agree. Either he's got a really bad hand, or he's being overly cautious. Playing to the defence so much isn't the Pharaoh's style at all."

"Well the Seal is giving Ivan a clear advantage," Ryou pointed out, standing next to the two in spirit form. "If only there was some way to get rid of it!"

Bakura nodded in agreement, his mind ticking over the numerous advantages that the Seal gave the Death Eater. He could almost hear Yami's voice in the living room of the Game Shop three months ago. "_It gives all monsters five hundred extra points and turns them all into dark attribute creatures, it cannot be removed from the field…" _His head snapped up in attention as he and Ryou shared a simultaneous thought.

"There is a way to get rid of it!" Bakura said aloud. Malik frowned.

"What?" he asked. But Bakura was no longer listening. Ryou had vanished back into his soul room, and the thief was already taking off down the pathway.

"Bakura! Where are you going?!" Malik shouted, causing everyone to turn and look at him. Bakura paused and turned around. Inside the Seal, Yami had heard Malik shout, and looked around in alarm.

"Pharaoh, if you can't beat him, stall him!" Bakura yelled in Japanese before continuing his marathon sprint away from the duel. As he left, Malik could see him unzipping his jacket to get to the Ring.

"Damn it!" the Egyptian cursed, making to go after him, but he was held back by three pairs of hands.

"Malik stay here," Hermione begged. "If Yugi loses then someone else will have to duel, and none of us can play. Besides we need you to tell us what's going on."

"Yugi isn't going to lose," Malik said firmly, making sure that Yami could hear him. Inside the Seal, the Pharaoh nodded at his friend, hoping that he was right. He turned his attention back to Ivan. The Death Eater was studying his hand before smirking.

"I was hoping for a real match when I issued this challenge," he said. "But apparently I'm not going to get one. Oh well. Robotic Knight, attack his facedown monster!"

Once again, the knight pummelled the facedown card, which turned out to be Alpha the Magnet Warrior (1400/1700). The tiny grey rock shattered.

"Machine King Prototype, attack directly!"

Malik, Harry, Ron and Hermione winced as they waited for the blow. Yami allowed himself to relax slightly as he pressed a button on his duel disk.

"Activate trap card – Spellbinding Circle!"

The smirk slid off Ivan's face as the magical circle appeared around Machine King Prototype, stopping the robot dead in its tracks. Malik exhaled in relief.

"Thank Ra for that," he said. "I honestly thought he was slipping there!"

"What does that do?" Hermione asked.

"Spellbinding Circle prevents Machine King Prototype from attacking and stops Ivan from changing its battle position," Malik reported.

"That was a lucky shot!" Ivan shouted, apparently miffed that Yami did have some fight in him after all. He set two facedown cards of his own before waving the Pharaoh on. Yami drew and looked over his cards. Yugi appeared in spirit form as a smile graced his darker half's face.

/_I_ _think I see a plan here…_/

OOO

Bakura tore down the village pathways, sending villagers and students scattering to one side to get out of his way. The Millennium Ring was clutched in his left hand, dragging him in the direction of the castle.

/_You can't run all the way back to Hogwarts_/ Ryou said. /_You'll never make it in time_/

//_I'm not planning on running_// Bakura told him. //_I just want to get far away enough from everyone_//

/_To do what?_/ Ryou asked, now totally lost. Bakura slowed down to a stop as he reached the pathway leading into the village. Right now, with most of the students already there, the path was deserted. Bakura reached for his duelling deck and Ryou nodded mentally.

/_Ah I see. Good plan_/

//_When have my plans ever been anything but good?_// Bakura asked smugly, pulling out a single card. "I summon Diabound Colonel!"

The Millennium Ring lit up and in front of the yami appeared the white skinned fiend that represented his soul. It blended in very well with the surrounding snow. Bakura smirked.

"Take me into the castle," he ordered. "Quickly."

The snake tail extended, wrapping itself around the thief, before taking off swiftly towards Hogwarts.

//_Much quicker_// Bakura noted, as in no time at all, they arrived in the Entrance Hall. Filch was snoozing in a chair by the front doors, his secrecy sensor still clutched in his hand. Bakura lifted the Ring and gave it an impatient shake.

"Find the Orichalcum!" he barked. All five pointers pointed toward the ground. Bakura turned to Diabound and nodded. The fiend wrapped him up in its snake tail again before both monster and spirit sank through the stone floor.

They emerged in one of the dungeon store cupboards. Bakura knew this area from when Ryou had potions, as Slughorn allowed the transfers access to the student cupboards whenever they were running out of supplies. Jars of ingredients sat on the precariously stacked shelves. Bakura scanned the room and quickly located the door. He marched towards it and kicked it open, invoking the Ring's power to search out his goal.

Bakura as his words from the previous night came flooding back. He had said he still wanted to see Yami suffer for what he had put him through. So why was he helping him now?

/_Good question_/ Ryou commented. /_Not that I'm complaining or anything. I want to help too. Yugi's my friend_/

It was at this point Bakura realised exactly what he was doing. He wanted to see Yami suffer, but ultimately, if the Pharaoh lost, then Yugi might try and take his place in the Seal again. And however much he thought Yami deserved pain, being torn from the other half of your soul was the most painful experience in the world. And Bakura knew that better than most, having been ripped apart from Ryou so often. No one, not even the Pharaoh deserved that.

He snapped out of his musings and shook the Ring.

//_Come on Ring. Find the Orichalcos rock and find it fast!_//

OOO

"I play the spell card Brain Control!"

Yami plugged the card into a spell/trap zone on his duel disk and on the field appeared a grisly grey brain, which extended a pair of clawed arms towards Ivan's side of the field.

"I pay 800 life points to take control of one of your monsters," Yami explained. "I chose Robotic Knight!"

Life Points

Yami: 5000

Ivan: 8000

The Knight was seized by the arms, and was dragged without resistance to Yami's side of the field. The boost that it had previously received from the Seal disappeared taking its attack back down to 1600. On Ivan's side of the field, Machine King Prototype's attack decreased to 2100 with the loss of a fellow machine monster.

"Go ahead," Ivan shrugged. "He's weak without the magic of the Orichalcos, so he's no use to you."

"Don't be too sure of that," Yami said. "He's not staying with me long. I sacrifice Robotic Knight so I can summon Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700)!"

The robot vanished leaving a shower of pink bubbles behind it. From this apparition appeared a young blonde girl wearing a pink and blue dress and a hat that was too big for her head. She giggled and twirled her staff before winking at the audience. Ron wolf whistled loudly, and Hermione smacked him around the head.

"Your girlfriend is a few points short Yugi," Ivan pointed out in a bored voice. Yami smirked.

"She may be a few points short, but the monster I'm about to summon isn't. I activate Sages Stone, allowing Dark Magician Girl to call her mentor from my deck!"

A tiny crystal appeared in front of Dark Magician Girl, who picked it up, threw it into the air, and hit it with a blast of magic from her staff. Light erupted from the stone and when it cleared, a second spellcaster had appeared, this one wearing robes of deep purple, and carrying a green staff. He turned and nodded to Dark Magician Girl who beamed back at him.

"Isn't that Yugi's favourite monster?" Harry asked.

"Yep," Malik grinned. "That's Dark Magician alright (2500/2100)."

"Dark Magician, destroy Machine King Prototype!" Yami ordered. "Dark Magic Attack!"

"How predictable," Ivan muttered, hitting a button on his duel disk. "Activate Negate Attack!"

Yami growled in frustration as his vision went photonegative for a second. When it returned to normal, Machine King Prototype was still there, the attack having been absorbed by the trap. Dark Magician looked extremely put out, and glared at Ivan. And with Dark Magician Girl a hundred points short of defeating the frozen robot, Yami had no choice but to end his turn.

/_Its okay Yami_/ Yugi assured him. /_He can't attack with Machine King Prototype thanks to Spellbinding Circle_/

//_Its not Machine King Prototype I'm worried about_// the Pharaoh admitted. //_I'm worried about him sacrificing it for something stronger. There's probably plenty in that deck that could mean trouble for us_//

On the sidelines, Harry was having another thought.

"Those monsters look really realistic," he said. "When Yugi's magician glared at Ivan just now he looked really really angry."

"Yeah, must have something to do with the magic we used on the duel disks," Malik supplied. While it was true that fuelling the duel disks with Shadow Magic would produce some very realistic results, the reason the monsters were so life like was because the Seal bought all the monsters to life. But then, Malik reasoned, no one needed to know that.

Ivan drew his card, trying not to look too miffed that his opponent now had the upper hand. He was not succeeding however, as the Seal betrayed every twinge of anger that coursed through him.

"I set a monster facedown. Make your move Yugi."

Yami drew and looked over the two cards in his hand before studying the field.

"Okay, let's try again. Dark Magician, attack Machine King Prototype!"

The spellcaster looked even more determined to finish the robot off properly this time, and everyone winced and covered their eyes as the attack caused the world to flash. Machine King Prototype cracked and shattered like a pane of glass. Ivan scowled as his life points went down.

Life Points

Yami: 5000

Ivan: 7700

"Dark Magician Girl, attack his facedown monster!" Yami ordered. "Dark Burning Attack!" The sorceress beamed and waved her staff, sending a blast of purple magic at the facedown card. It flipped up, revealing a dark blue metallic soldier, with a rocket launcher mounted on its shoulder. The monster vanished in the blast.

"Kinetic Soldier (1350/1800)," Malik provided for the audience.

"End turn," Yami announced. Scowling, Ivan drew his next card. He looked even more sour as he carried out his move.

"Set one monster. End turn."

Yami raised an eyebrow as he drew his next card. Did Ivan, who had been doing well up until this moment, not have anything that could help him right now? He looked suspiciously at his one remaining facedown card.

//_I don't like to take a risk Aibou_// he thought to Yugi. //_But if its no threat then we can't pass up the opportunity to do some damage. He could easily turn the duel around again_//

/_I agree_/ Yugi thought. /_Maybe we should take the risk. We've got Mirror Force for protection if anything goes wrong_/

Yami nodded.

"Dark Magician Girl, attack his facedown monster!"

Once again, another blast of purple energy was fired at Ivan's side of the field, flipping the card up, to reveal another Kinetic Soldier.

"Dark Magician, attack his life points directly!" Yami ordered. The Sorcerer looked thrilled and Ivan screamed as he was blasted off his feet by the magical energy.

Life Points

Yami: 5000

Ivan: 5200

"Nice job Yugi!" Malik cheered.

"That just about evens the score up," Ron said.

Ivan was furious as Yami indicated that his turn was over, particularly when he head the rest of the spectators cheering. He drew, and a smirk appeared on his face.

"_This'll shut them up_!" he thought.

Across the field, Yugi had noticed it too.

/_I don't like that smile Yami_/

//_Neither do I_// the Pharaoh admitted, as Ivan looked over at them, the smirk and the red glint in his eye from the Orichalcos making him look slightly deranged.

"I summon Reflect Bounder (1700/1000). And if I were you, I'd think twice before attacking him!"

He slapped the card he had just drawn onto his duel disk, and in front of him appeared a strange looking robot. It had no legs, just two arms that hung to the side of its red body. Its head and chest were adorned with two large circular mirrors, and behind it trailed a blue cloak. Completing the effect was the Seal of Orichalcos, which shone out of the mirror on the monsters' head (2200).

Yami's eyes widened.

//_Reflect Bounder! If we try and attack that it will damage our life points too!_//

"Pay back is a bitch hey Yugi?" the Death Eater cackled. "Reflect Bounder, attack Dark Magician Girl!"

A ball of light began to gather between Reflect Bounder's hands.

/_I think this is serious enough to warrant Mirror Force_/ Yugi suggested.

//_Agreed_// Yami said, pushing the button on his duel disk.

"Activate Trap card – Mirror Force!"

The holy barrier sprung up in front of the relieved looking Dark Magician Girl, just as Reflect Bounder let fly its attack.

"Not a chance!" Ivan retorted, pressing a button on his own duel disk. "Reveal Counter Trap – Seven Tools of the Bandit!"

His life points ticked down by one thousand. Yami ground his teeth together, and Dark Magician Girl looked horrified at the Death Eater's words as Mirror Force cracked and disappeared, shattering at her feet as the attack struck dead on.

"What happened to the mirror?" Ron asked in confusion. Malik did not have time to reply. There was a loud scream belonging to Dark Magician Girl as she perished in the explosion. Dark Magician looked horrified at his apprentice's demise, and he glared angrily at Ivan looking as though he would like nothing more than to blast him and his machines into the Shadow Realm.

Life Points

Yami: 4800

Ivan: 4200

"One down, one to go," Ivan said smugly, but Yami did not seem to notice. He was berating himself for being so careless.

He slid Dark Magician Girl's card into the graveyard with a heavy heart. If he could not save her, then what hope did he have of saving Yugi from being sealed again? Once again however, Yami had forgotten that he could not hide anything from Yugi, and the hikari appeared in spirit form before him, arms folded and a stern look on his face.

/_This is not your fault Pharaoh. You are not going to let this guy beat you and you won't lose me again. I trust you_/

//_I know Yugi_// Yami told him. //_But what if..._//

/_No buts_!/ Yugi said, interrupting his darker half for what had to be the first time since he had known him. /_You've told me before that you believe in me. Well I believe in you too, and I know you won't lose this. I know it_/

Yami felt his other half's words warm him, just like the light that his hikari was. He smiled to himself.

//_You're right Yugi. I'm sorry. With your support I won't lose_//

Yugi nodded, before looking down at the cards they were holding.

/_Diffusion Wave Motion, Mystical Elf, Magical Hats and Magical Dimension. Any ideas?_/

//_We don't want to attack Reflect Bounder with Dark Magician_// Yami said. //_We'll lose too many points. And I don't want to set Mystical Elf. Not yet anyway. If we draw the right monster we can use her with Magical Dimension. But for now, we'd better just leave Dark Magician where he is until we can find a way around Reflect Bounder. He's a few points short of defeating him when he's in attack mode_//

"Are you doing anything over there?" Ivan rudely butted in. Yami scowled.

"I pass this turn."

Outside the Seal, Ron frowned.

"He didn't attack," he said. "Why didn't he attack? His magician has more attack points than that Reflect thingy."

"Reflect Bounder has a pretty nasty effect," Malik explained. Ron frowned in confusion.

"Remember when you last watched me and Ryou duel the other day?" Malik asked. "He had trouble beating my Revival Jam because it kept re-summoning it? That was its effect. Reflect Bounder has an effect too. If Yugi attacks it, Reflect Bounder will deal damage to Yugi's life points, equal to his magician's attack. And being that he's got four thousand eight hundred points, that would be a serious blow to take."

"This is all very complicated," Harry remarked.

"Meh, no more so than Quidditch," Malik shrugged. "You get used to it."

Ivan drew and added another card to his hand. It was clear he was waiting for something in particular, as he like Yami, passed his go too.

"Stalemates are _fun_," Malik deadpanned. "It seems they're both waiting for something."

Yami was agreeing with the Tomb Keeper as he drew his next card.

/_No spellcaster_/ Yugi lamented, looking at Emergency Provisions.

//_Don't give up Yugi, we still have time to draw the one we need_// Yami said, taking Emergency Provisions, Diffusion Wave Motion and Magical Hats and setting them in the spell and trap card zones.

"I set three cards and end my turn," the Pharaoh announced.

"Seems someone's getting desperate," Ivan taunted, drawing his own card. His grin became sinister, sending a shiver over all those that were watching.

"Something tells me he got a good card," Ron said.

"Really?" Malik asked dryly. "What gave it away? The smug smile on his face, or the fact that he's chuckling now?"

"Carrot Top and Queen of the Nile are both right," Ivan said, ignoring the now enraged Gryffindors. Ron's ears had turned red, and Harry was now restraining Malik from charging headlong into the Seal. "I did indeed draw what I need. Behold, the spell card, Cost Down!"

Yami's eyes opened in recognition. "Kaiba used this card! Now you discard one card and all your monsters are downgraded by two stars!"

"Indeed!" Ivan stated, slipping a card into his discard slot. "So now I can summon one of my level six monsters without tributing anything for it!"

//_Magical Hats//_ Yami assured Yugi before his partner could ask. He waited with one hand over his duel disk.

"Bet you anything its Machine King," Malik muttered to the spectators.

"Rise up in attack mode…" Ivan shouted, slamming the card onto his duel disk. "Jinzo (2400/1500)!"

Both Yami and Yugi felt their blood freeze. In the crowd, Malik began swearing loudly in various languages, completely disregarding the fact that Dumbledore was still standing next to him and that that Headmaster could probably understand what he was saying no matter what language he swore in. Everyone else just watched in awe as huge green humanoid robot appeared. The skull was bare and the front of the face covered by a metal mask. Its eyes, a pair of red goggles, gleamed brighter as the Seal of Orichalcos was added to its forehead (2900)

"I really hope those facedown cards of yours aren't traps Yugi," Ivan taunted, before turning to his new monster. The android's laser swept over all three of the facedown cards, turning the one on the far right a strange grey colour. Yami knew that trap was now unusable.

"I'm confused," Ron admitted.

"As you can see," Malik said, wincing at the direction this duel was going. "Jinzo negates the effect of all trap cards."

"Oh…" Harry said. "But then the other two that haven't turned grey are…?"

"Spells," Malik confirmed, not really listening that hard anymore, preferring to pay attention to the duel. Ivan meanwhile slotted another spell card into his disk.

"I'll play Premature Burial, paying eight hundred life points to revive the monster I discarded with Cost Down…Machine King (2200/2000)!"

Life Points

Yami: 4800

Ivan: 3400

It was fairly similar to Machine King Prototype. Its legs and torso were made up of a grey metal, with a blue lower body and red arms. As it appeared, it gained an additional three hundred points from having Jinzo, Reflect Bounder and itself on the field, plus another five hundred from the Seal of Orichalcos. (3000).

"Ooh boy, this isn't good," Malik muttered. Ivan's rather sinister grin only enforced this opinion.

"Now I'm rather sore at your Magician for blasting away all those points of mine," the Death Eater said. Yami knew he was just trying to draw this out for as long as he could. He knew he was going to destroy the King of Games' favourite monster. With Yami's traps frozen he had lost the most effective means of defence. There was no way Dark Magician could take an attack from a machine that strong.

"I think its payback time," Ivan coldly stated. "Jinzo, destroy his pathetic excuse for a Magician! Cyber Energy Shock attack!"

Jinzo raised both hands to its chest, and a ball of black energy began to generate in between the palms of its hands. Dark Magician cried out as the ball was hurled into his chest. A dull explosion later and Yami's field was bare.

Life Points

Yami: 4400

Ivan: 3400

"Machine King and Reflect Bounder, attack his life points directly!" Ivan commanded. Yami interrupted loudly, pressing a button on his duel disk.

"Reveal facedown card! Emergency Provisions!"

Just before Machine King could throw its punch, a hungry grey worm like mouth appeared out of thin air and gobbled up the two facedown cards. Ivan hissed.

Life Points

Yami: 6400

Ivan: 3400

"Pad your life points out all you want to Yugi," he said. "I'll just beat them down again."

"Hang tough Yugi!" Malik urged as Machine King raised a robotic arm and sent its fist flying toward the Pharaoh. Yami fell backwards into the snow, which was promptly sent flying into his face again as a second blast from Reflect Bounder followed, knocking a further dent in his life points.

Life Points

Yami: 1200

Ivan: 3400

"Ow!" Ron repeated.

"I felt that from all the way over here!" Hermione said. Her hands were over her face, her eyes peeking out occasionally when she thought she could bear to see what was going on.

"I'll admit that had to hurt!" Malik said wincing. "The most I've taken to date is a twenty five hundred point attack from Yugi's Dark Magician in a friendly duel. And that was really really painful!"

"_And this is far from a 'friendly duel'," _he added silently.

"But I'm confused," Harry said, looking rather lost. "What did Yugi just do? How did he get those extra Life Points?"

"He used Emergency Provisions to send Diffusion Wave Motion and Magical Hats to the Graveyard and…" Malik trailed off seeing that whatever he said was going to go right over their friend's heads. "I'll explain later," he promised with a sigh.

Yami got jerkily back to his feet. Yugi hovered anxiously in spirit form.

/_Other me, are you alright?_/

//_Think so_//

"Did that hurt Yugi?" Ivan taunted. Despite himself he looked remarkably impressed that his opponent was able to get back up again. Yami glared at him.

"I've had worse," he replied. In actual fact he was aching all over, but he would never admit that aloud. He wouldn't give Ivan the satisfaction of seeing him in pain. Yami knew he could take that type of abuse in duelling. He had taken a thirty-two hundred-point attack from Noah's Shinato in the virtual world, and that had hurt more than this had.

"I end my turn," Ivan said, his eyes gleaming like his monsters metallic bodies.

//_I won't let him get away with that_// Yami swore mentally as he drew. //_Dark Magician, and Dark Magician Girl shall both be avenged_//

/_We need to end this quickly_/ Yugi said. /_Before we lose the last of our life points_/

//_You're right Yugi. We need to draw the card we need_//

Yami's hand hovered over the deck slot. Yugi placed his own spectral hand over the top.

"_Heart of the Cards. Guide us."_

OOO

/_Why would Dumbledore hide the Orichalcum in the dungeons?_/ Ryou asked, as his darker half kicked open yet another door, before turning away in disgust as the Ring pointed in a totally different direction. /_I would have thought he'd keep it in his office or something. It's bound to be safer there_/

//_You have a point_// Bakura told him. //_But remember, Dumbledore's office is on the third floor, right in the centre of the castle. He wasn't happy about keeping it in the castle for fear of the effect it would have on the students. He probably put it down here, far away from as many of the students as possible_//

He raced in the direction that the pointers were leading him, stopping and kicking open the doors that he passed just in case they revealed a short cut. Eventually Bakura was led to a door, which wouldn't budge when he charged it. Unlike the other doors, the Ring seemed to glow more vibrantly. He swore a few times, before turning and nodding to Diabound. Once again, the fiend pulled his master through the wall and into what appeared to be another storage room.

/_You know_/ Ryou said timidly. /_You could have just used Diabound to get through all the doors instead of shoulder charging them all and bruising my body_/

Bakura just smirked. //_Ah Ryou, you still do not understand the occasional need for senseless violence. Don't deny me my fun now hikari…now where do we go next…?_//

The Ring pointed off towards a blank stretch of wall.

//_An illusion_// Bakura reported sensing Ryou's confusion. //_The magicians of the court used to cast them in the tombs. It's a door pretending to be a blank wall_//

He nodded again at his monster, and both of them sank through the fake wall and into a small cold stone chamber. There at the back was a large trunk with an ornate looking lock. Bakura knelt down and examined the lock.

//_Doubt Alohamora's going to work on that_// he said. After making sure that Diabound was still watching his back, he reached for his pocket and pulled two lock picks from within.

/_Where did you get those?_/ Ryou asked in surprise.

//_Knockturn Ally_// Bakura said briefly, ear pressed against the wood of the trunk, judging which points of the lock he should manipulate. //_I swiped them from Borgin and Burkes_//

/_Oh…_/ Ryou said, unsure how to comment. But considering they were helping them save Yugi, he decided he wasn't going to complain about his yami's thievery. /_Are you sure they're safe? You know most of the stuff in that shop was pretty dark. What if they're cursed or something?_/

//_Relax Ryou_// Bakura assured him, twisting one of the picks sharply. //_I checked them over with the Ring when we got back that evening. They're perfectly safe_//

As he spoke, the lock gave a loud click and Bakura pushed the lid open.

//_And if I may say so_// the thief smirked. //_They worked like a charm_//

There in the bottom of the box, lay the ring that had previously belonged to Draco Malfoy. The Orichalcum pulsed, feeling a human soul nearby. Bakura pulled on Ryou's gloves, which he had abandoned during the run from the village, and picked up the ring. With a little bit of force, including using one of his lock picks as leverage, he popped the stone from the ring and slid it into his pocket.

"Okay Diabound, back to the village," he ordered, pocketing the picks and zipping up his jacket. "For once in my life, I hope the Pharaoh is winning."

OOO

"Well?" Ivan asked in a bored voice.

"Look at him," Ron said in contempt. "He thinks he got the match already in the bag."

"No way," Malik said firmly, but inwardly he was starting to doubt his words.

"_Come on Pharaoh, pull yourself together_."

"Swords of Revealing Light!"

The Pharaoh held the card up for dramatic emphasis before plugging it into the Duel Disk. Above Ivan's head, glowing swords appeared and dropped into the ground, freezing all three monsters in their tracks.

"Well that's a pain," Ivan muttered to himself. He seemed very unfazed by his opponents move.

"What does that card do?" Ron asked, having never seen the magical swords being used before.

"Flips all Ivan's monsters face up and stops them from attacking for three turns," Malik said, his voice incredibly tense.

"_The Pharaoh's looking for something special. He'd better get it in time, else he's royally screwed."_

"Well if you're that desperate to stall," Ivan shrugged, drawing his card and adding it to the other in his hand. "I pass this turn."

"Very well," Yami said drawing.

//_Not the right card_// he thought.

/_We'll get it_/ Yugi said reassuringly. /_And this monster will help us if Swords of Revealing Light wear _off/ Yami nodded and took the card he had just drawn.

"I'll set a monster and end my turn."

The bare side of his field was filled with a holographic facedown monster. Ivan sneered.

"You've got three free turns and you aren't attacking?" he taunted. "You aren't exactly putting up much of a fight Yugi. I heard you were unbeatable. So where's that talent that made you World Champion?"

Yami bristled. "I'm saving it for a duellist who knows how to duel with honour," he retorted. "Not on someone who has to resort to using a card of pure evil to win."

Ivan just laughed. "Who cares? I am winning, and that's all that matters. In duelling only the strongest survive!"

"If you think using the Seal of Orichalcos makes you strong then you are sadly mistaken," Yami said, glaring at him. "That thing has corrupted your mind by offering you power. Duel Monsters is about honour and respect, not strength!"

Ivan snorted. "I knew you'd say something like that. You realise that the whole duelling community has heard your little 'Heart of the Cards' speeches before. Anyone who actually believes that rubbish doesn't deserve to call themselves a duellist…"

"Stop talking and move already!" Malik shouted, not wanting to see the Pharaoh's temper get pushed any further. "We're not going to be young forever you know!"

Ivan growled at the Egyptian. "After I beat Yugi, you're next Ishtar!"

"Bring it on you ba…"

"Malik! Company!" Harry said urgently, reminding him that he was in the presence of not only Dumbledore, but Rudolphus Lestranges, who looked quite ready to blast the mouthy blonde back to Egypt.

"Make your move," Yami ordered.

"Gladly," Ivan said studying his cards. "I'll pass again."

"Doesn't seem to be fazing him that he's been halted for three turns," Ron noted.

Next to Ron, Malik snickered.

"What's funny?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I don't see anything amusing," Ron remarked. "Ivan has two monsters with twenty nine hundred and twenty eight hundred attack points apiece. I thought that was bad?"

"It is," Malik said. "But Swords of Revealing Light was just what Yugi needed. Give him time to recover he always takes control back no problems."

Yami bit his lip as he drew.

//_Still haven't drawn it_// he said. Plugging the card he had just drawn into his duel disk.

"I play Pot of Greed."

The smirking green ceramic jar appeared on the field, and cackled a bit before exploding. Yami pulled another two cards from his deck.

"I remember that card," Harry said, recalling a tabletop duel he had witnessed the day before. "You've got that card don't you Malik?"

"We've all got a copy of that card," Malik confirmed. "It lets you draw twice."

/_They will come in handy!/_ Yugi said happily looking at their two fresh cards. The Pharaoh nodded.

"I'll end my turn," Yami announced. Ivan huffed and pulled another card from his deck.

"I'll set this," he said, plugging a card into his spell and trap zone. "And call it a turn. And your Swords of Revealing Light are now gone."

Sure enough, the giant glowing swords flickered and faded away, freeing all three of Ivan's machines from their grasp. Yami held his breath as his hand hovered over the deck.

/_We can do this_/ Yugi said.

//_We have to do this_// Yami added, before pulling the card from the deck.

Both their hearts sank.

//_Magic Cylinder_// Yami muttered. //_It would only help if he didn't have Jinzo on the field_//

"I'll set another monster," Yami said, trying not to let his worry show. "That's all for now."

/_If we can survive this next round_/ Yugi reminded him. /_We'll have one more chance_/

In the crowd, Malik watched in horror.

"_This better be some sort of plan Pharaoh!" _he thought desperately. "_And where the hell is Bakura?!"_

Ivan burst out laughing.

"That's it?! This was even easier than I expected!"

Yami just scowled at the Death Eater as he drew and added a fifth card to his hand.

"You've just set yourself up for a fall to the Orichalcos Yugi!" the Death Eater gloated, selecting another card. "I'll set another card and summon Nanobreaker to the field (1600/1800).

A fourth machine type monster appeared, this one looking considerably more human than any of the others. She was a brown haired woman encased in silver and red body armour, carrying a lethal looking blade. As the Seal branded itself on her forehead, her look became more menacing (2100).

"Now which of your monsters should I take out first…" Ivan mused aloud. "I know. Nanobreaker, attack the monster on the right!"

The female monster charged at the card, blade raised above her head…

And it flipped up to reveal an elf in green and brown armour and a blue cloak. He knelt on the ground and raised his sword to parry the attack. Nanobreaker withdrew her sword and backed away in confusion, leaving the soldier unharmed.

"What?!" Ivan demanded, angry that his attack had had no effect.

"Sorry Ivan, but Obnoxious Celtic Guardian's (1400/1200) special ability means he can't be destroyed by monsters with nineteen hundred attack points or more," Yami informed him. The elf wiped the sweat from his brow, while Ivan jumped around in anger. The spectators sagged in relief.

"Ha! So the Seal's actually making it harder for Ivan right now!" Ron chortled. True, the power boost from the Seal now meant that Reflect Bounder had 2200 attack points. Jinzo and Machine King were also well over the necessary amount of points to destroy Celtic Guardian, having 2900 and 3100 points respectively.

"Yugi," Malik said in a weary tone. "Next time you're going to save yourself, WARN US WHY DON'T YOU?!"

"Fine!" Ivan said angrily. "I can't destroy you this round, but I can take out that other facedown monster of yours! Machine King attack with Jet Rocket Punch!"

On command, the biggest machine on Ivan's side raised its arm obediently and its mechanical fist was sent flying at the card next to Obnoxious Celtic Guardian. Yami winced as Big Shield Gardna (100/2600) moaned in pain before vanishing in the blast.

"Since none of my monsters can beat that elf of yours," Ivan said, casting Celtic Guardian a glare, which the warrior returned full force. "I'll end my go here. But you're still one attack away from losing your soul!"

OOO

Bakura pushed through the crowd of onlooking students; not caring that he sent a few flying into the snow with particularly violent shoves. He forced his way towards the teachers and aurors who were keeping the crowds back from the fight. Two burly looking wizards stood in front of him, blocking his way.

"I'm sorry young man but you can't go in there."

"Get out of my way," Bakura snarled, reaching for his knife. "Or I shall make you rue the day you were born!"

The aurors did not look intimidated, and apparently Bakura's threats made him a risk in their minds. They both drew their wands and pointed them at the young wizard before them. The thief growled angrily.

"I warned you," he muttered. There was a blast from the Millennium Ring, which caused some of the people in the crowd to scream and the two aurors keeled over their souls now trapped temporarily in their own wands. Bakura leaped over their prone bodies before running towards the duel. The remaining aurors began firing stunning spells at the white haired thief. Diabound appeared instantly.

"Keep them off my back," Bakura ordered. "But eh…don't kill them."

//_Never thought I'd hear those words coming out of my mouth_// he mused as he started running again. Behind him Diabound absorbed two stunning spells without a mark. Bakura was very glad now that he had agreed to duel Malik two days previously. As Diabound copied the abilities of the last monster it fought, it had retained Revival Jam's regeneration ability.

/_Sorry Bakura, but it's me that'll go to jail for murder if Diabound kills them_/ Ryou apologised. /_Look, we're almost there. And the duel doesn't seem to be over yet!_/

Ron was the first to spot the albino approaching. Malik immediately turned around at the same time, sensing the shift in magic that represented Bakura's presence. He was considerably alarmed to see the thief running towards them, exhausted, jacket and cloak haphazardly hanging off him, and the Millennium Ring glowing fiercely. His jaw dropped open when he saw Diabound blocking the barrage of spells that were being fired at him.

"Mind telling us where the hell you've been?" Malik asked. "And why Diabound is taking all those stunning spells and _not _dying?"

Diabound's appearance had arrantly not gone unnoticed by the people surrounding the Seal. As the Shadow creature gave a cry of pain, Harry, Ron and Hermione's jaws dropped. The only person who did not appear fazed was Dumbledore.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Ron demanded.

"Can't explain now," Bakura said, turning and raising the appropriate card. "Diabound! Return to my hand!"

The monster vanished in a swirl of shadow magic, before reappearing on the card, which Bakura slipped back into his pocket. Ignoring the questions from the rest of their fellow students, he fished around in his other pocket for the Orichalcum. He felt a minor jolt as his gloved hand enclosed the rock, but he ignored it and palmed the stone. In a powerful motion, he hurled the magical rock, sending it flying through the air. It crashed into the side of the seal and stuck there like a fly caught on a sheet of sticky paper.

For a second, nothing happened, and then ever so slowly cracks in the shield began to appear. The Orichalcos rock trembled and vibrated before it exploded, shattering the cursed field spell in a blinding flash of light. The force of the explosion rocked the hillside and sent everyone nearby flying off their feet.

Malik spat out a mouthful of snow, before looking up in a daze. The Seal was gone and both duellists now lay face down in the snow. The field card slot on Ivan's duel disk had opened of its own accord, but there was no sign anywhere of the card. The explosion seemed to have destroyed it along with the rock and the Seal.

"Yugi!" Malik shouted in alarm, struggling to his feet. Bakura grabbed his arm.

"Nobody move!" he ordered, as Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of the teachers began to stir. "Their duel disks are still active!"

"What does that mean?" Harry asked. "The Seal's gone. We should get Yugi out of there while we can!"

"Not likely Potter," Rudolphus spat, jumping to his feet and grabbing his wand. "The duel is still on, and standard protocol gives both of them five minutes to get up before the duel disks shut off and they both forfeit."

"That's insane!" Hermione shouted.

"Come on Pharaoh get up and fight!" Bakura shouted in Japanese. "I didn't run all the way to the bloody castle and back just so you could take a nap!"

His words fell on deaf ears. Malik checked his watch.

"Come on Yugi! Wake up!" Harry yelled.

"Shouldn't the duel disks have shut off when the Seal went?" Malik asked. "Yugi said that when the Seal was broken in Joey's first duel with Mai, the duel disks shut off and the match was declared a double forfeit."

"No when Valon broke the Seal he knew what he was doing," Bakura explained, shaking his head. "Valon had used the Orichalcos before and he knew how it worked. I just threw it and prayed to Ra that it would work. It was enough to break the Seal but not to shut off the duel disks. The match is still on."

"They've got four and a half minutes left," Malik said, watching the second hand on his watch tick round and round. It seemed to be going faster the longer he watched it.

"Yugi!"

"Wake up!"

"On your feet Pharaoh!"

OOO

The first thing Yugi was aware of was that his face was cold. Cold and rather wet. The snow was soaking into his skin, numbing his cheek. A small patch had cleared where his breath had melted the white carpet. He wondered why he was lying on the snow at all. Had he fallen? Why weren't his friends helping him up? He could hear Malik and Ryou shouting along with other voices…Harry, Ron and Hermione? Why were they calling for him? Were they in danger?

He opened his eyes a crack, and registered the familiar weight on his arm. His duel disk. And it was active. He was duelling…then where was Yami? Why had he relinquished control? Was he hurt? Was that why he was on the ground? Who was he fighting? He raised his head a bit, trying weakly to shake his blonde bangs from his face. His opponent was still facedown in the snow, his black cloak pooling in the snow around him.

Yugi's large amethyst eyes opened wide as he recognised the figure. He remembered now. He…Yami had been duelling a Death Eater in an Orichalcos duel! Then Bakura had arrived and thrown something at the Seal…and now….He looked around him to see the green shield was gone. But the duel disks were still active! That meant the duel was still going on!

"Yugi! He's up!" Harry shouted.

"Thank God!" Hermione squeaked.

"Pharaoh? Is that you?" Bakura demanded, slipping into Egyptian so that no one would understand him. The last thing any of them wanted was the Death Eaters hearing who he and Yami really were.

"No it's Yugi," Malik corrected, obviously noticing the difference. "Are you okay?"

Yugi pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. He couldn't speak Egyptian like his other self, but he understood the gist of what was being said.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he responded in English, one hand darting to the Puzzle. There was no response, but he could feel a calming warm presence that signified the Pharaoh was still within the Puzzle. Yugi guessed he was unconscious from the blast, hence why he was in control now. He gathered up his cards. He would have to finish the duel for him. Fortunately his other half had already gathered most of the cards they needed for their strategy, so there wasn't much left for Yugi to do...providing the Death Eater got up in time.

"How long was I out?" he asked, getting unsteadily to his feet. The ground felt strangely lopsided and he guessed he was mildly concussed.

"Four minutes," Malik shouted. "That Ivan bloke has forty five seconds to get up!"

The other Death Eater, Rudolphus seemed to be losing patience. He pulled out his wand and waved it at his fallen comrade. To everyone's horror, Ivan began to stir.

"Hey that's not fair!" Bakura shouted. "No help is allowed from outside the duel!"

"Shut up kid!" Rudolphus snapped, clearly thinking that fighting with the albino was a waste of time. Bakura inflated at being called a kid, but a calming hand on his arm stopped him. Ryou stood there in spirit form, shaking his head.

"Let Yugi deal with him," he advised, before turning his eyes back to the duel, where the fallen Death Eater was pushing himself onto all fours.

Next to Malik, Harry glanced over at his friends. Malik was still looking concerned, even though the Seal had gone. Though he didn't know it, Malik was actually concerned about how well Yugi would be able to duel without the Pharaoh's help.

Next to Malik stood Ryou. Harry frowned. Their white haired friend had been acting strangely all day. First the necklace that he never took off had started glowing and pointing at the Death Eaters, then he had taken off at the start of the duel, somehow broken through all the protection Dumbledore had placed around the Orichalcum, and returned to destroy the Seal. Not only that, but he had been accompanied by a monster of his own, one which was apparently real enough to absorb spells cast by a group of aurors.

Harry might not like it, but there was a small seed of distrust that had been planted in the back of his mind when he had met these transfers that seemed to have so many secrets. This was just another one to add to the ever-growing list that was causing the seed of doubt to turn into ripe suspicion. They couldn't hide the truth forever, and he knew after this duel was over, he was not the only one who was going to have questions that needed answering. He saw Ryou scowl at the duel as the Death Eater finally stood up straight. Harry pulled his attention back.

"Th-the Seal…" Ivan stuttered. He also looked mildly dazed, and Yugi guessed that having the Seal destroyed like that had probably hurt him spiritually a lot since he was the one that played it. "The magic…it's gone…how?"

"Sorry," Bakura grinned smugly. "That's what happens if you chuck a lump of Orichalcum at it. And it looks as though the rock didn't survive either."

"The duel is still on gentlemen!" Malik said, sounding utterly gleeful now that the Seal was gone. "And I believe its Yugi's turn!"

Yugi nodded, smiling as he reached for his deck. Now that the Seal was gone, Ivan's monsters had lost their power boosts, bringing Jinzo back down to 2400, Machine King to 2500, Reflect Bounder to 1700 and Nanobreaker to 1600. The latter two were now weak enough to destroy Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, his last line of defence.

"_I have almost everything I need," _Yugi thought to himself._ "I just need one more card. Come on Heart of the Cards…"_

He pulled the card, and grinned.

"_Yes!"_

"I summon Mystical Elf! (800/2000)"

In front of the King of Games appeared a blonde haired, blue skinned woman wearing a green dress. Her hands were clasped in prayer. Ivan just looked at the elf stupidly, clearly wondering what the hell Yugi was up to.

"Next I'll activate Magical Dimension!" Yugi announced slotting the spell card into the disk. A golden sarcophagus, suspended in a frame by chains appeared, and Mystical Elf was pulled inside before the sarcophagus slammed shut around her.

"To activate this card I must have one face up spellcaster on the field," Yugi explained. "Then by sacrificing a monster of my own I can special summon one spellcaster from my hand. And I chose, Dark Magician of Chaos (2800/2600)!"

The sarcophagus opened again, and this time a magician wearing a black bodysuit and a black and purple jester hat emerged from within. He clutched a staff that was taller than he was, and he pointed it at Ivan, his eyes narrowed in a glare.

"And as another effect of Magical Dimension," Yugi said. "I can automatically destroy one monster on your side of the field. And I chose, Jinzo!"

"Nice!" Malik shouted. Behind him, Harry, Ron and Hermione all cheered. Thick gold chains appeared from the cage and grasped the androids wrists and waist, dragging it into the sarcophagus, which then shattered into pieces, taking the monster with it.

"Next, "Yugi said, pulling another card from his hand. "I'll activate Dark Magician of Chaos's effect. When he's summoned I can retrieve one spell card from my graveyard. And I chose Diffusion Wave Motion!"

The graveyard slot spat out a card, which Yugi picked up and added it to the other two cards still in his hand.

"_I can't activate Diffusion Wave Motion yet," _Yugi thought._ "With only thirteen hundred life points left, Reflect Bounders ability would wipe me out. So I'll hang onto it for now."_

"Dark Magician of Chaos, attack Nanobreaker with Chaos Sceptre Blast!"

"Like I'd let that happen!" Ivan spat, jabbing a button on his duel disk. "Activate Negate Attack!"

"Again!" Harry spluttered, as for the second time that day, a dark portal opened up swallowing the ball of chaos magic. Dark Magician of Chaos scowled.

"He had two copies of Negate Attack?" Ron asked, looking at Malik for conformation.

"You can have up to three," the Egyptian explained briefly.

"Is that all for this turn?" Ivan asked, but despite how angry he was trying to sound, there was a hint of fear in his voice. He seemed incredibly thrown by the abrupt recovery his opponent was making.

"Actually no," Yugi nodded. "I'll place a card facedown and that will be it."

The holographic card appeared behind the Magician, and the still crouching Obnoxious Celtic Guardian.

"Wow the little squirt can actually duel," Bakura commented aloud. "I'm impressed."

/_You sound so surprised_/ Ryou said. /_I could duel before I met you. And I've seen Yugi duel in school without the Pharaoh's help before. He's good in his own right too. I wouldn't be surprised if he could give his yami a run for his money_/

Bakura mused over this before pulling his attention back to the game. Ivan was drawing with a slightly panicked look on his face. On the field, Nanobreaker, Reflect Bounder and Machine King (who's power had dropped to 2500) seemed to shrink under the gaze of the fearsome looking mage. Ivan studied his cards and seemed to relax slightly.

"Your Mage is history," he breathed. Yugi's eyes narrowed slightly. Everybody watched, sensing somehow that whatever Ivan was summoning was going to be huge.

"I tribute Nanobreaker, and Reflect Bounder…"

The two monsters vanished in a shower of sparks.

"…to summon the almighty, Perfect Machine King (2700/1500)!"

A monstrosity of a machine rose up to the right side of Machine King (2400). Its body was bulky and white, while its head and lower arms and legs were red. It pounded its fists together in an angry gesture.

"Not good," Ron summarised.

"He'll lose his Magician!" Hermione gasped. "That's his strongest monster!"

"He'll be fine," Bakura snapped.

/_Hopefully…_/ Ryou added.

"My Perfect Machine King gains five hundred extra attack points for each machine on my side of the field," Ivan announced. Sure enough, the presence of Machine King caused the robot to grow even bigger. Electricity crackled around its body as its attack rose to 3200.

"_I hope you have a plan Yugi, or your Mage is screwed!" _Malik thought desperately.

"Perfect Machine King, attack Dark Magician of Chaos!" Ivan ordered. The panels on Perfect Machine King's shoulders opened and missiles shot at the spellcaster. "You are finished Yugi!"

"Not quite," Yugi replied. "Trap card activate!"

The card that Yugi had set the previous turn swung up to reveal two purple cylinders. Perfect Machine King's missiles flew into one of the cylinders, before firing straight back out of the opposite and into Ivan. The Death Eater roared in pain as he crashed into the snow.

"Magic Cylinders redirects Perfect Machine King's attack and turns it instead on your life points," Yugi summarised. "You just lost thirty two hundred life points."

Life Points

Yugi: 1200

Ivan: 200

Ivan gave an angry growl, and he slowly moved his arms to push himself up.

"Don't just sit there!" Rudolphus snapped angrily. "Get up you pathetic excuse for a Death Eater!"

"That really really had to hurt," Ron said. "Three thousand two hundred points of direct damage…ouch!"

"Serves him right," Malik said, remembering the twenty-nine hundred-point attack the Death Eater had launched against Yami earlier.

"At least with the Seal no longer in play, it won't hurt them as much," Bakura pointed out. "Sadly. I doubt he would have been able to get up after that if it were still a Seal duel."

Ivan got shakily to his feet and spat bitterly on the ground, glaring at his own monsters as if they were to blame. He switched Machine King's card sideways, and the robot crouched in defence mode. Ivan brandished a hand at Yugi.

"Go!"

Yugi drew and studied the field.

"I activate Mage Power!" Yugi said, plugging the card he had just drawn into his disk. Dark Magician of Chaos suddenly began to glow, energy flowing into him from the spell card. His attack points climbed to 3300.

"What on Earth does that do?" Rudolphus asked. Ivan seemed a little beyond words at this point.

"Glad you asked," Yugi said. "Mage Power is an equipment card that gives Dark Magician of Chaos an extra five hundred attack points for each of my spell and trap cards, including itself, giving him five hundred points. But thanks to another card he's about to get even stronger!"

He played another spell card and Dark Magician of Chaos's staff began to glow vibrantly.

"I play Diffusion Wave Motion! I pay one thousand life, points. In exchange my Dark Magician of Chaos can attack each monster on your side of the field," Yugi explained.

Life Points

Yugi: 200

Ivan: 200

The mage smirked, hefting his staff eagerly. Ivan was trembling and muttering as though in a trance.

"C-c-can't…can't l-lose…Master will be a-angry…can't…"

"Looks like without the Orichalcos he feels weak," Bakura observed. "He's been shaky ever since the Seal was removed."

"_I feel bad for him_," Yugi remarked to himself. "_He must have a horrible threat over his head if he fails. But I can't throw the duel now. Not after the sacrifice all my monsters made…not after everything Yami did to give me a chance… I won't let them down."_

"Dark Magician of Chaos, attack Machine King, and then Perfect Machine King! Chaos Wave Blast!"

The mage raised his staff and from the top another ball of black chaos energy appeared. The magic crackled angrily and waves began to pulse from the tip of the staff, slicing first through the defending Machine King, and finally through the hulking Perfect Machine King.

Life Points

Yugi: 200

Ivan: 0

Ivan was screaming in disbelief and pain at the amount of damage that was being done to him at this point. Dark Magician of Chaos, in an effort to quieten him down, swung his huge staff with surprising accuracy, and slammed it into the Death Eater's stomach. Ivan crumpled to the ground, moaning like a wounded dog.

"I think that was for Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl," Malik commented.

The duel disks shut off and the holograms vanished. Yugi's spellcaster disappeared, leaving no evidence that he had ever been there. Yugi released the breath he had been holding, and sank to his knees, cold and completely exhausted now that the duel was over.

The spectators raced forwards. Malik reached him first, kneeling down to check him over. He saw how much the last attack had shaken Yugi up. No wonder the Pharaoh always took over. Yugi hated fighting and the idea of hurting another person, so doing something like this was a real test of his strength.

"Are you alright Yugi?" he asked. The tri colour haired duellist nodded.

"Fine thanks Malik," he said. "I'd just forgotten how tiring Orichalcos duels could be."

"That was awesome!" Ron said enthusiastically. "I never knew muggles had such cool things!"

Hermione elbowed him in the ribs, before bending down to have a look at Yugi. She quickly registered how he seemed to be squinting and how his lips and fingertips were slowly turning blue.

"He should go to the hospital wing. He's probably concussed from that explosion, and being unconscious in the snow can't have been good for him either. He looks cold."

There was a bang from nearby, and a curse slammed into the snow next to Yugi, who was immediately surrounded by his friends. Several people screamed as Rudolphus Lestranges raised his wand again.

"If we can't have your souls then we can still take your lives! Avada…!"

Dumbledore, and the aurors who were not pushing the frightened spectators away, began to fire curses at the Death Eater before he could finish the spell. The sickly green circle of the Orichalcos surrounded him again, blocking all curses in and out. The Death Eater snarled, as Bakura and Malik advanced, their hands on their Duel Disks. He waved his wand, summoning the still dazed Ivan to his side, and hefting him over his shoulder before taking off towards the Shrieking Shack.

"You Ra damned coward!" Bakura roared. "Get back here!"

He raced after the fleeing Death Eaters, but Rudolphus was clearly using the magic of the Orichalcos to increase his speed. Bakura vanished down the path, leaving a group of very shaken teachers and aurors. Hermione was the first to speak, taking Yugi's wrist to get his attention.

"Let's get you back to the school,"

Yugi did not have the energy or willpower to argue, and so he allowed Malik to pull him onto his back. As they rose, Yugi looked around the path.

"Don't bother mate," Ron said. "They'll probably be long gone now."

"I don't think so," Malik assured him, looking at the spot where his friend had been standing. "Unless I'm very much mistaken, Bakura's dealing with them as we speak."

Yugi nodded vaguely before closing his eyes and resting his head against Malik's shoulder. A concerned looking Harry roughly shook him awake.

"Don't fall asleep Yugi. If you fall asleep when you're cold you might not wake up again."

"Mm not falling asleep," Yugi replied. Though he was tired, he didn't want to sleep yet. He had to check on Yami first.

"You want to go to your soul room don't you?" Malik asked in Japanese. Yugi nodded, before remembering that Malik couldn't see him.

"Go ahead," Malik told him. "Just come back when you're done, else Harry and co will think you've passed out from hypothermia."

Yugi smiled before turning his head away from Harry and closing his eyes again. The cold disappeared as he found himself in his soul room. He quickly rushed across the hall (tripping over a discarded game console as he went) and into the labyrinth of the Pharaoh's soul.

"Yami?"

A faint groan answered his inquiry. Yami was lying sprawled over a staircase to his left. Yugi hurried up to him just as he raised his head. He looked incredibly dazed.

"…Aibou?"

"You know Other Me," Yugi said, pulling one of the Pharaoh's arms over his shoulder and dragging him down the stairs. "One day you're going to have to invest in a bed in this place. This sleeping in corners and on staircases thing you've been doing lately can't be healthy."

Yami gave a vague chuckle as Yugi propped him up against one of the walls. He gave his other half a critical look.

"You look as bad as I feel."

"Thanks," Yami said, shaking his head in a vain attempt to clear his vision. "What happened?"

"You passed out when Bakura shattered the Seal," Yugi explained. "I took over and finished the duel in your place."

"Did you…" Yami trailed off. Yugi nodded.

"I won," he reported. "You'd done most of the work for me already."

"You defeated three of the toughest machine monsters in the game," Yami smiled at him. "I'm proud of you Yugi."

Yugi blushed, and Yami looked uncharacteristically shameful.

"I'm sorry Aibou."

Yugi looked up frowning. "What for?"

"For losing my nerve like that," the Pharaoh said. "I spent the first half of the duel holding back, worried that I would mess up. I was…I just did not want to lose you again."

Yugi nodded.

"I know Yami. But you have to realise something I think. We nearly lost a few times in that duel, but only because you almost gave up on yourself. If you think you're going to lose the duel, then you've already lost. And we didn't lose. I couldn't have won without you either. And once the Seal was gone, Ivan started panicking. He lost all confidence when it was destroyed. As long as you don't lose confidence like that, then you can't lose."

Yami sighed heavily.

"You're right Yugi. I have been worrying too much about it. I've already promised that I'll never lose you again. That should be enough for me to believe in."

He suddenly gave a long-suffering groan.

"I suppose I owe Bakura some thanks then. Incidentally, where are we now?"

"On Malik's back," Yugi said. "He's taking us up to the Hospital Wing. Bakura's gone to track the Death Eaters. They vanished after the duel. I'm guessing that he's going to give them some kind of punishment."

Yami repressed a wince. Knowing Bakura's nature, the punishment would not be pleasant. Distantly both yami and hikari heard the sounds of Harry trying to get Yugi's attention.

"I'd better go," Yugi said. "Before they think I've passed out because of the cold. I'll come back later. For now, try and rest."

Yami nodded as Yugi got up and hurried away. As he watched his Aibou go, Yami tried to shift into a more comfortable position. He groaned to himself.

"Yugi's right. I need to get a bed in this place."

OOO

Rudolphus unceremoniously threw the defeated duellist onto the old dusty sofa in the front room of the shack. He could have just left the other for the Ministry to lock up, but he was hoping that the Dark Lord would take out his anger on Ivan more than himself. Small gusts of freezing air shot through the gaps in the wall, making both men shiver. Rudolphus pushed the cold aside. It was nothing compared to how the Dark Lord's fury would be when they returned. Repressing a shudder, the Death Eater rummaged around in his pockets for something to turn into a Portkey. Ivan was far too weak to apperate.

Laughter, filled with malice and ill intent echoed around the deserted house. Rudolphus drew his wand, fear creeping up around him. Had the Dark Lord heard of their defeat and come to punish them? But when the voice spoke, it was not the high cold voice of their Master, but a low and dangerous sounding snarl.

"So you thought you could leave without paying the price for defeat?" the voice asked. Ivan was trembling, not even bothering to reach for his wand. Rudolphus whirled around, blasting the door off its hinges, hoping to reveal their hidden foe.

"Who is there?" he demanded. "Show yourself!" The voice laughed again.

"Are you sure that is what you want? Foolish mortal. You know people used to fear my name. But if you insist…"

Behind the two men, the floor seemed to warp and shape, like a pebble breaking the calm surface of a lake. From the wood rose a truly frightening creature, with the torso and head of a goat and the tail of a snake. Wrapped almost lovingly in the snake's coils, was a figure with white hair, glowing red eyes, and the Eye of Horus shining on his forehead, the same golden colour as the glowing pendant around his neck. Rudolphus leaped backwards in alarm.

"I would usually leave this job to the Pharaoh," the thief said, smirking at his prey. "But since he is unconscious right now, I have the honour. You have fought a duel and lost, and for that your soul must be punished!"

"I've had enough of this!" Rudolphus snapped. "Avada Kedavra!"

"Waboku!" Bakura retaliated quickly. The three priestesses, all dressed in blue appeared. With a wave of their hands, the spell vanished into thin air. Rudolphus watched in terror as Bakura raised a hand and pointed at the two frightened Death Eaters.

"PENALTY GAME!"

The eye on his forehead shone vibrantly, and both Death Eaters screamed.

OOO

* * *

**A/N:** …my brain hurts!

Yeah you can tell I'd much rather play the game than write about it. Hopefully it'll get better once I start entering the tournaments in Southampton. I rewrote this duel five times until I was happy with it. Hopefully I'll get better as I go along.

This chapter would have been out sooner were it not for a combination of facts. 1, I came down with the Norovirus just before coming back to Uni (unpleasant much). 2, My Grandmother took a turn for the worse after New Year and I've been making arrangements to go visit her after my exams. 3, The aforementioned exams plus assignments. So yeah, those are my excuses. Sorry everyone.

I owe a huge amount of thanks to DuelistBlake1852 for reading through the duel and telling me exactly where I had gone wrong. And for listening to me ramble for hours on end in between. You rock dude!

And thanks once again to Isis the Sphinx for being my ever faithful beta!

Check me out! I've got a new summary! I thought my old one was a bit boring.

Yeah whatever they say in 50 and 51 of the Dub is complete bollocks. Yugi can duel just fine without Yami's help. The Sub of that episode is amusing however, particularly the scene at the beginning with Yugi's mother (giggles).

OUTAKE BY AUTHOR MEI1105

Next to him, he could feel Malik trying to reach the Millennium Rod, which if he knew the Tomb Keeper, was hooked in his belt.

"Need a hand Malik?" Bakura asked, trying to twist his hand around to reach his friend's Millennium Item.

"If you can," Malik muttered, not wanting to draw attention to what they were doing. "My wrists don't bend this way."

"Can you just shift a bit to the left?"

"…like that?"

"Sit still damn it…"

"…Bakura that is _not_ my belt!"

"Oh Ra!"

"Thanks for sharing that with us you two."

"Yeah…sorry to disappoint you Bakura but I don't swing that way."

"Don't flatter yourself Tomb Keeper!"

"Icksnay on the keeper day if you don't mind!"

OOO

Kehe! I thought that was amusing!

Now because I left you all for a while, and because I didn't give you guys a present for New Year, and because I saw the most awesome teasers for Doctor Who and Torchwood over Christmas and I feel like doing one of my own, here's a set of teasers for upcoming chapters!

Cue the awesome action packed music that plays during the Doctor Who trailer (for some reason I can't get it out of my head!).

OOO

"Not again. Not now!"

OOO

"Get it open!" he shouted desperately. "Hurry!"

OOO

"Ron, come here and tell me whether I'm hallucinating or not."

OOO

"So you're telling us that Yugi and Ryou have two of these Items that are supposed to contain a magic so dangerous that it nearly destroyed Egypt?"

OOO

"Just watch me! I'll beat you this time!"

"Isn't that what you said the last time?"

OOO

"Ron this is a letter, we shouldn't be reading this."

OOO

"IT'S GAME TIME!"

OOO

"You're not Ryou!"

OOO

"What's happening to him?!"

OOO

"These aren't hallucinations…they're echoes of our past…"

OOO

…

Mwahahaha! I love doing evil things! All these are actual quotes from all the way up to Chapter 27 (where I currently am now).

Longest AN of my life is now over! If you got to the end of this in one piece, I salute you. Don't forget to review!


	13. Chapter 13: Return to the Dominion

**Disclaimer: **I don't own it…really! Don't you glare at me you evil Disclaimer person you!

**Chapter 13: Return to the Dominion**

"How do you feel Yugi?" Ryou asked, settling himself into a chair next to the bed. His body, under Bakura's management had taken a detour to the owlery in order to send a letter, before heading down to see their friends. Despite Yugi's assurances that he was perfectly fine, Madam Pomfrey insisted that he stay in the Hospital Wing for the evening. She was now fluttering around the door to the Wing clearing up the chunks of snow on the floor that Ryou had bought in with him.

"F-fine," Yugi stuttered. In truth he was now starting to feel the effects of the cold. He suspected that the adrenalin during the duel had been the only thing keeping him warm until this point. Now that he was sitting in bed in nothing but pyjamas and a thick blanket, he had started to shiver.

"Yeah say that without your teeth chattering and we might believe you," Ron grinned. Yugi glared at him before sipping some more of the Pepper Up potion that had been forced upon him. He winced as steam poured out of his ears, but he felt warmer and managed to get his chattering teeth under control.

"I have to say," Malik said critically. "Not your best duel ever. But heck, that was an awesome comeback so I'm not complaining. And you were right about the Seal. Those advantages are nasty."

"And he didn't even take advantage of some of the more dangerous ones," Yugi pointed out. "He didn't use his back row of monsters, or the change in attributes to his benefit. He could have been far tougher then that. Thanks for shattering the Seal Ryou," he added turning to his friend. "I don't think I would have won if you hadn't returned."

Ryou blushed and shrugged the praise off, but Harry jumped in at this point.

"How on Earth did you find the Orichalcum?" he asked. "I thought Dumbledore hid it somewhere safe?"

"He did," Ryou said uncomfortably. "I just managed to break in. It was hidden down in the dungeons in a secret room."

"How did you find it then if it was hidden?" Harry asked suspiciously. Something didn't add up here. He was sure Dumbledore would have put up more security than that. How had Ryou been able to break it? Unfortunately for Harry, Ron chose this moment to ask another question.

"And that monster that followed you back up the hill Ryou. What was it? You called it back into the card."

Ryou buried his face into Yugi's mattress. He really was no good at answering questions when on the spot, and he really really wanted to talk to Yugi and Malik alone. He could tell that the other two wanted to discuss the duel freely without being overheard.

"Lay off him guys," Malik ordered. "We've all had a trying day."

Harry looked as though he wanted to argue, but at this point, Madam Pomfrey came bustling back, with even more blankets, which she dumped unceremoniously on Yugi.

"There you are dear. Soon to be back to normal…"

Yugi muttered something about how he was just fine, but the matron apparently did not hear. On the other side of the bed, Malik was making quick work of pulling out the Millennium Rod and tapping into its power. A second later, Madam Pomfrey had a strangely glazed look in her eyes.

"And the Headmaster wishes to see you three," she pointed at Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Outside."

The three exchanged shrugs before getting to their feet and leaving. Malik hurriedly sent Madam Pomfrey away, relinquishing control just as their friends reached the door.

"Go for it Bakura," he ordered. As Ryou's head lifted from the bed, his hair spiked and his eyes took on a bloody tinge as Bakura took over again. The Ring shone brilliantly before dying down as the Hospital Wing doors closed.

"That was close," the thief remarked.

"What happened?" Yugi asked, his eyes flicking between the Ring and the spot where their friends had just been standing.

"I edited their memories slightly," Bakura explained. "Not drastically you understand. They still remember the duel, the Death Eaters and the Orichalcos, but they have forgotten ever seeing the Ring or Diabound. They've also forgotten that I vanished at the end of the duel to track down the Death Eaters. And as far as they know right now, they stepped outside to get some fresh air."

Malik nodded. "Probably for the best."

"Just beware though," the thief warned. "We can't afford for this to happen again. This isn't a permanent spell. If they see the Ring acting up again, or if they see Diabound they will remember today's events in full."

"I remember," Yugi said suddenly. "You used this spell on Tea and Tristan at Duellist Kingdom didn't you? As soon as they saw Pegasus's tower again though they remembered everything."

Bakura nodded, before his eyes softened back to brown, and Ryou reappeared.

"I feel bad lying to them all," he said.

"I do too," Yugi agreed. "But it's for their own safety."

Ryou nodded miserably, and as he did Bakura fazed out with a troubled expression on his face. Next to Yugi, Yami did the same. The Pharaoh still looked wiped out from earlier, but he sat up straight on the bed next to Yugi and listened to the conversation regardless.

"That duel was not pleasant to watch," Malik said.

"Be thankful you didn't actually see anyone lose their souls," Yugi said darkly. "Incidentally Bakura, do we want to ask you what you did with them when you found them?"

The thief smirked.

"Ah have no fear Yugi, they received just punishment. I figured if Voldemort is so keen to have souls he wouldn't mind it if I sent his Death Eaters to him in a manner he would be accustomed…"

He trailed off as if recalling a fond memory, and everyone exchanged looks.

"Okay…" Ryou said eventually deciding that a change of topic was needed. "I suppose one good thing came out of this duel. The Orichalcos stone is no longer in the building. Throwing it at the Seal destroyed it completely. So at least you guys can get a decent nights sleep without the potions."

Both Yugi and Yami looked cheered at this idea.

"Has Dumbledore asked you how you broke in yet?" Yugi asked. Bakura and Ryou both shook their heads in unison.

"It wouldn't matter anyway," Ryou pointed out. "He knows we can summon Duel Monsters, so Diabound's ability shouldn't shock him."

"It's still much more information than he should know," Bakura muttered. "The more people know about the Orichalcos and our summoning ability the closer they come to finding out about us and the Items. Incidentally…"

He gave Yami a direct look.

"Pharaoh have you found summoning monsters easier since we got here?"

"To Hogwarts?" Yami asked. "Yes I have as a matter of fact. Do you think it has something to do with the castle's magic?"

"That's exactly what I think," the thief agreed. "Diabound took a lot of stunning spells today and even with Revival Jam's special ability I should have still felt weak from the damage. But I didn't."

Yami nodded, realising that the thief was correct.

"When I was first released from the Ring," Bakura continued. "I couldn't summon anything at all in the real world. Only in Shadow Games could I release the monsters. By Duellist Kingdom I was strong enough to bring a few low level monsters to life, but they were only really shadows and they did not last long."

"I remember that," Yugi said. "Tristan said that while you were both lost in Pegasus's castle you bought the Man Eater Bug and a Morphing Jar to life."

Bakura nodded. "For whatever reason, the magic of Hogwarts seems to be strengthening us both."

"That's good," Yugi said, turning to smile at Yami. "Coming here has helped you guys too!"

The Pharaoh smiled back before his head snapped up.

"They're coming back," he said briefly, preparing to vanish back to his soul room. Yugi spoke up.

"Remember, we need to be careful about what we say around them. They already know more about the Orichalcos than they should, we can't let them know about the Items too."

Everyone nodded and Bakura vanished back into his soul room too.

//_Ryou keep a hand on the Eye. I want to check that my memory spell is working correctly_//

Ryou nodded, clutching the smooth magical ball, repressing a shudder. He hated the Eye. Not only did it creep him out, but also he had seen his yami's memories since Duellist Kingdom, and he could remember the way Pegasus had screamed as his Bakura had taken if from him. It made him feel nauseas.

//_I didn't know it disturbed you that much_// Bakura commented, before his attention spiked. //_Heads up, here they come_//

All three teens looked up as the hospital wing doors were pushed open and Harry, Ron and Hermione returned from their walk. As Bakura had promised, they did not appear to remember anything about the Ring, or Diabound, as they made no comment about the innocent looking jewellery that was hanging outside his jumper.

"You look like a marshmallow in all those blankets Yugi," Ron remarked. Yugi pouted.

"I am not a marshmallow!" he snapped, drinking the rest of his potion, and wincing as more smoke gushed out of his ears again. Everyone laughed at him.

"We overheard Dumbledore talking to one of the aurors downstairs," Hermione said. "They found Rudolphus and Ivan at the Shrieking Shack. Looks like before they could get away their souls were taken. Must have been the Orichalcos stones they were wearing."

"Possibly," Yugi said, knowing the real reason that the Death Eaters souls were absent was in fact because of a certain white haired thief and his rather twisted Penalty Games. Sure enough, Ryou was wearing a smirk that could only belong to Bakura upon hearing the news.

"So Yugi," Ron said, grabbing everyone's attention. "Can you tell us any more about some of the cards you used today?"

Yugi grinned before pulling out his deck and going over a few of his monsters special abilities. In the back of his mind he felt Yami listening vaguely.

/_Hey Yami_/ Yugi thought reassuringly. /_You don't have to worry any more. We won today, and now Voldemort will think twice before coming after any of us again_/

His other half smiled through the mind link.

//_You're right Yugi. We showed him today that we won't go down without a fight. He can send his minions to fight us, but eventually he'll have to face us himself. And when he does, we'll take him down. Together_//

OOO

That evening a tawny owl arrived at the Riddle House in Little Hanglington and deposited a package at the feet of the Dark Lord before turning and soaring out, dodging the curse that was aimed at it. Voldemort plucked the envelope off the floor and ripped it open. Two small playing cards, and a note were pulled out. The Dark Lord tossed the envelope onto the fire before his slit like eyes flicked over the cards.

He recognised the cards as Duel Monster cards. But they were certainly not ordinary cards. The first was entitled "Machine King" and the second was entitled "Perfect Machine King". But instead of the monster pictures, the images of Rudolphus and Ivan stared out at him, their faces frozen in wide-eyed terror, pleading for release.

Voldemort repressed his fury. The power that the Orichalcos granted him had allowed him to view the duel for as long as the Seal was in play, and he was angry at the outcome. Not only had those two fools failed him, but the Seal had been broken meaning he did not even have his Death Eaters souls to fuel his cause. His eyes scanned the note, and he felt his anger rise.

"_Good luck getting their souls out of those cards you foolish mortal. You shall have to do better than these two morons next time._

_-The Lord of Darkness"_

The Dark Lord scrunched up the note, his fist trembling in anger. How dare these people make fun of him?! He was the most feared wizard in the world, and these foreign wizards (if indeed that was what they really were) were mocking him. He slammed his fist into the wooden desk, and clenched his teeth before throwing the note into the fire a new resolve in his mind. He knew who Mutou, Wheeler and Kaiba were, and how they fit into the story of the Orichalcos. Now he had to find out who these other two transfers were. Clearly they had some role in this too and he would discover what.

In the mean time, he had his next target lined up. Seto Kaiba and his infamous dragon protectors was an obstacle that would have to be eliminated, and he would take great pleasure in taking the young genius's soul.

He gripped the chain around his neck, and focused on the two transfer students. Ryou Bakura and Malik Ishtar. What was their purpose and how did they have the power to summon monsters of their own? The Seal of Orichalcos flared into life around him as it began to generate a vision. Smirking now, he took one last look at the Duel Monster cards before throwing them into the fire alongside the charcoaled note. As the card smoked and the edges smouldered, he could almost hear the sounds of screams, as the souls burned in eternal torment.

OOO

Not even the darkness of the Orichalcos duel could smother the excitement that came in preparation for Christmas. During the last week of term the decorations sprung up around the castle everywhere, causing wide-eyed astonishment from the transfers. Even Ryou, who had been bought up in England had to stop and stare on more than one occasion at the decorations. They were far grander and more spectacular than anything they had in Japan, where Christmas was not as important as New Year.

With the Orichalcos stone no longer in the school, and their second year units complete, Yugi, Ryou and Malik had finally been able to enjoy the free time. There were no more outbursts of anger or violence, and Yugi in particular was far more cheerful, having been able to finally get back to a normal undisturbed sleep. With the duel disks working, they were all eager to start playing again, however the thick layer of snow outside meant that the Quidditch pitch was inaccessible, and there was no room in the Great Hall between all the tables. When they returned after the holidays, they would have to ask Dumbledore if they could use the pitch, and hope that the snow had melted.

"Can't wait to get back to Domino," Malik muttered the morning they were due to leave. "We'll be able to duel wherever we want and no one will care."

"And we've got the Regionals," Yugi reminded him. "It'll be fun to watch even if we aren't competing."

"Doo oo 'ot get 'ny swow 'n guphan?" Ron asked, his mouth bulging from a combination of bacon, eggs and sausage. Hermione looked positively revolted and all the transfers wrinkled their noses in disgust.

//_Its official_// Bakura said. //_He has worse manners than I do_//

Ron swallowed and tried again.

"Do you not get any snow in Japan?"

"Not much," Yugi admitted, placing his knife and fork on his now empty plate. "Central Japan doesn't get much. Only a light dusting maybe during early spring. North Japan gets swamped with it, and it's really mild down south so they barely get any."

All three of them looked visibly cheered at the idea of returning to Japan. There had been no debate on staying. They wanted to check everyone was okay, and spend time with their families over New Year. Harry and Ron would be returning to the Burrow, while Hermione was going home to visit her own family. After the attack in Hogmseade the previous week, it seemed everyone in the school had suddenly decided to return home for the holidays. The idea of an attack so close to Hogwarts had unnerved everyone. Dumbledore had wanted to send the transfers back by Portkey, but the plane tickets had already been booked and it would look a tad suspicious if Yugi, Ryou and Malik were to suddenly reappear in Domino without clearing immigration first.

They had received a letter from Joey during the first week of December, telling them that he had been confirmed a place in the Regional Championships. Kaiba had run checks on all the duellists in the area, including the ones who were not attending. Surprisingly there was still no sign of Weevil Underwood or Rex Raptor. As the current and former Regional Champions respectively, they were expected to be there. Both of them however seemed to have disappeared.

"Why aren't you guys competing in the Regionals then?" Harry asked curiously.

"Well apart from the fact that the first rounds started this week and we've missed them," Malik said. "I can't compete because Japan isn't my permanent place of residence. Technically we're only there for as long as the museum needs Ishizu. Our work visas don't expire for a while yet, but Ishizu commutes regularly, and the Council of Antiquities keep nagging her to come back permanently. Once we run out of excuses, then we return to Luxor."

He did not mention that the Ishtars would remain in Domino for as long as possible where they could get in contact with the rest of the Item bearers easily.

"I would have taken part in the British Regionals if I could," Ryou admitted. "But they were in late September and I did not apply in time. Maybe next year I'll go."

"Kaiba and I are the World Champions," Yugi said. "So we generally stay out of tournaments except for the World Championships and any tournament we receive invitations to. It makes it fairer for other duellists."

"Guess," Harry shrugged, seeing what they meant.

"So what's Christmas like in Japan?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Not half as big as it is here," Ryou said. "Christmas was introduced mostly for the commercial market. It's not a national holiday. New Year is more important to us. Christmas Eve is for couples to get together, or for people to throw parties. Most businesses close for New Year, but everything stays open for Christmas."

"But you're British Ryou," Ron pointed out. "Don't you celebrate it anyway?"

At this Ryou looked extremely subdue and shrugged vaguely before turning back to his porridge. Yugi and Malik looked sadly at their friend. Ryou had received a letter from Egypt a few days ago. Due to an unexpected find in the desert, his father would not be returning for Christmas. He had not said whether he would be in time for New Year, however Ryou was not holding much hope. His father's work kept him busy most of the time. Deep down though, Ryou knew it was because it hurt to see him. Not only did he remind his father constantly of his mother, but also until recently, Ryou's friends had a terrible habit of disappearing into comas whenever they played Monster World with him. The albino suspected that his father was slightly afraid of him.

"What about you Malik?" Hermione asked. Malik shrugged.

"My family follow the ancient beliefs, so we don't celebrate Christmas. We might do something for New Year this year."

"We have to do something on the twenty third," Yugi pointed out. Malik gave a sad smile.

"What happens on the twenty third?" Harry asked.

"It's Malik's birthday," Yugi said, before the Egyptian could stop him.

"It is?" Ron asked in surprise.

"It is," Malik sighed.

"You don't sound too happy about it," Hermione observed. "You'll legally be able to do magic out of school."

Had this been any other time, Malik might have scoffed and responded that that had never stopped him from using his magic before. After all, it was clear that the Ministry couldn't detect the magic of the Items anymore than Yami and Yugi could lose a fair game. But he just looked at his plate in a blank manner. He had never looked forward to his birthdays, mostly because he had been underground for most of his life and they had never seemed that important. But for the last seven years, they had been a lasting reminder of the Tomb Keepers Initiation, the day his darker half was conceived.

Perhaps it was because he felt just as miserable at the moment, but Ryou noticed the faraway look on his friend's face and he guessed what he was thinking.

"Malik," he said in Japanese, catching his friend's attention. "You aren't in the tombs any more. Your birthday doesn't have to depress you."

Yugi, who now understood why Malik was being so quiet, looked at Malik in understanding.

"Oh, sorry for bringing it up Malik…"

"No its fine Yugi," Malik replied, this time in English. "You're right. I am sort of looking forward to turning seventeen. I can drive on the roads here in England if I want to."

Harry was thinking about Malik's reaction. He could sympathise with not enjoying your birthday, after all he had been with the Dursley's for most of his birthdays. But why did Malik hate them so much? He remembered with a shiver Malik's outburst on the day of the Quidditch match. Did Malik's apparently bad childhood have anything to do with his dislike of his birthday?

Ron elbowing him in the sides forced him out of his musings. Yugi had noticed the time and reminded his friends that they needed to be in the Entrance hall with the rest of the people getting the train to London in ten minutes. Malik hastily gulped down the last of his juice and Ryou finished his mental chat with Bakura (who had been demanding a few more sausages before they left).

"We'd better go grab our bags," Yugi said, and Hermione nodded and got up herself. "Aren't you guys coming too?" Yugi asked, noticing that Harry and Ron had made no attempts to move. Ron shook his head.

"Dumbledore is arranging a Portkey for us. Thinks its safer considering…well…that…"

"That Harry is on Voldemort's Most Wanted list?" Malik supplied. Ron nodded.

"It's ok," Yugi said. "We'll see you after the holidays then. Oh and just in case…"

He pulled out a scrap of parchment from his pocket, plus an ordinary muggle biro and began scribbling.

"What?" he asked, noticing Ron's sceptical face. "Biros are easier to carry than ink and a quill."

He finished writing, before pulling out his wand and frowning in concentration.

"Now lets see if I can do this right," he muttered, tapping the parchment with his wand. "Geminio!"

Nothing happened. Yugi pouted.

"Dang."

"Here," Hermione said leaning over with her own wand. "Geminio!"

The parchment multiplied into another two identical copies.

"Guess I need more practise," Yugi muttered.

"Not really," Hermione shrugged. "That spell is NEWT standard…" she trailed off as Yugi handed one of the parchment pieces to her.

"Here," he said, giving the other two to Harry and Ron. "That's our addresses and telephone numbers. You hear anything or see anyone brandishing anything green and evil looking give us a shout."

"What makes you think that we'll see any Death Eaters over the holidays?" Ron asked. "You're the ones they've been after recently."

"They know that we've been hanging out together," Ryou pointed out. "They might make it a higher priority to get to you guys. But if you know where we live you can come to us if you need to. We can deal with them."

"Why is it so important to you guys?" Harry asked. "I know it's a danger to everyone, but why does it link to you? Why did you get involved in stopping the Orichalcos?"

For a second none of the three answered. For a second they were imagining that they did not have any responsibility to the terror of the Orichalcos other than hoping it would end soon. But reality returned to them quickly. Yugi's voice, soft and gentle, eventually spoke up.

"It's just something we have to do guys," he said truthfully. "It's like you and Voldemort Harry. We did not choose it, but its something we need to see through to the end, for the whole world."

And on that closing note, the three of them left.

"Have a good Christmas."

OOO

Terminal One Arrivals in Narita International Airport was crowded with anxious people, awaiting their relative's flights. It was here that Solomon Mutou now stood, with a patient air that not many in that airport could achieve, but one that he had learned well in his seventy-two years of life. By his side, Joey bounced impatiently on the balls of his feet, trying not to step on either of his friend's toes. Tristan was scanning the heads of the passengers for any signs of the familiar tri coloured spiky hair that belonged to their little buddy. Tea just stood there, twisting her hands in agitation.

Solomon turned his head to survey the Ishtars. Ishizu and Odion were watching the doorway from which their brother would appear with smiles on both their faces. Solomon had not had that much contact with either of them, but he knew how his grandson had met Malik. He also knew that Ishizu had been the former bearer of the Millennium Necklace. Right now she looked relaxed, but the anticipation on her face showed that she was eager to see her little brother again. Odion looked dignified and reserved as always, but there was the barest flicker of joy in his eyes that indicated that he too could not wait to see Malik.

Solomon's thoughts now drifted to his grandson's other friend. He had been surprised to hear that no one would be meeting Ryou with them, but Joey had been quick to explain that his father would still be in Egypt for the holidays. He could not help but feel slightly sad for the boy, who would be spending Christmas and probably New Year alone, and he wondered if he should speak to Yugi about asking him over. He had already asked Joey to join them for New Year, as the blonde duellist was fairly sure that his father would be busy for most of the day (he had not specifically said drinking, but Solomon had a good idea as to what went on in the Wheeler house). The retired archaeologist glanced at the young man, who was still jumping in excitement.

"Do relax Joey," he said good-naturedly. "You're going to put cracks in the floor."

Joey looked sheepish, and held still for about thirty seconds before he began fidgeting again.

"I can see them," Odion reported, being taller than any of them there. At well over six foot he towered over most of the people in the airport. Next to him, Ishizu craned her head in the direction her adoptive brother was pointing. A second later, Joey spotted the three familiar heads.

"Hey Yugi! Guys! Over here!"

Yugi, Ryou and Malik looked up and beamed at the sight of their families and friends. All three of them carried suitcases, having opted to leave their trunks and the bulk of their school supplies behind at Hogwarts. All they would need for the holidays would be their third year coursework and their wands (Ryou had insisted that they complete the Potions practical before they left). Fortunately since Ryou and Yugi had both turned seventeen already, and Malik's birthday was a few days away, they would be able to practise the spells at home without getting into trouble with the Ministry.

Upon reaching their relatives, Yugi immediately glomped his Grandfather. Malik, in a rare show of affection, hugged both his siblings, while Ryou was left to be greeted by an over enthusiastic Joey, Tea and Tristan.

"Safe flight?" Grandpa asked. "We received your letter yesterday."

Yugi nodded. He had sent Taiyo to Domino with information about the attack in Hogsmeade.

"Yeah it was fine except when Bakura threatened to send the snoring man next to Ryou to the Shadow Realm," Malik snickered. Ryou just rolled his eyes.

"So how was England?" Joey asked. "I mean aside from the crazy guys trying to kill you."

"It was freezing," Malik said bluntly.

"Was not," Ryou scoffed. "It was brilliant. You just have no stamina in the cold Malik."

"You can tell us all about it in the car," Solomon said promptly as Malik huffed at Ryou's words.

"Yeah Kaiba loaned us one of his limos, if you can believe it," Tristan said. "Oh and Mokuba invited us all to a party at their house on Christmas Eve."

"Mokuba's throwing a party?" Yugi asked, as they grabbed their luggage and made their way to the terminal exit. "And Kaiba _agreed_ to that?"

"I think the kid had some convincing blackmail material when he asked," Joey said winking. They were greeted outside by a noticeable nip in the air, but one not nearly as pronounced as that at Hogwarts. While central Japan did occasionally experience light dustings of snow, it was not nearly as heavy as that of northern Japan or England. Sure enough, a stretch limo was parked outside in the unloading bay, with one of Kaiba's drivers waiting for them. The luggage was loaded into the back and everyone clambered in.

"Ryou," Tea said curiously. "May I ask why you have a cat down your jacket?"

Ryou looked down to see Bastet's head poking out from the neck of his jacket. The poor kitten had not sat well being shut in her basket and crammed in the aeroplane for twelve hours, and as soon as Ryou had retrieved her at the airport, she had clambered onto him and not let go since.

"Flying didn't agree with her," he explained, before repressing a smile. "She's similar to Bakura in that respect."

In the back of his mind he could hear the thief muttering something about the evils of aeroplanes, but his yami's complaining ceased as door of the limo was closed. Joey immediately began speaking now he was sure that they would not be overheard.

"I have to say guys, it's good to see you back. After the last letter you sent, ya had all of us really worried."

Yugi shrugged.

"Aside from the nightmares and the madness at the Quidditch match, the duel was the only other trouble we had from the Orichalcos."

Outside the window, the airport began to vanish as the limo turned onto the highway that would take them out of Tokyo and toward Domino.

"So the men whom you fought last week," Ishizu prompted. The three Item bearers exchanged looks.

"Two of Voldemort's servants," Yugi reported. "Looks like he's finally realised that duelling is the easiest way to get people's souls. Luckily no ones soul was taken. Bakura shattered the Seal with the Orichalcum that we recovered after the Quidditch match."

"He did?" Joey asked, surprised that the thief who had until recently been trying to kill them all could actually do something to help another person.

"He did," Malik nodded.

"He did," Ryou echoed, before finding himself in his soul room. An indignant Bakura had taken control.

"Why do you all sound so surprised?" he asked. "I have a conscience…sometimes…"

"Erm," Joey said slowly. "Who are you and what have you done with the psycho who usually inhabits Ryou's mind?"

Bakura scowled.

"Watch it dog boy," he warned, adopting Kaiba's insult knowing that it would get to the blonde. "I can still send you to the Shadow Realm with a wave of my hand!"

Yami scowled as he appeared, looking ready to banish Bakura himself if he so much as made the Ring twinkle. But it seemed that Yugi and Ryou wanted to get home with their limbs intact, so they both took control.

"Sorry everyone," Ryou apologised. Tristan patted him on the back.

"You my friend, have the patience of a saint."

"Or he's totally insane," Malik pointed out. Ishizu hit him for his lack of manners. "Ow! Sister!"

Everyone chuckled at him. Malik rubbed his head, pouting miserably.

"So how's everything here been?" Yugi asked, looking particularly at Joey. "No one else has been attacked have they?"

The blonde shook his head.

"Not since me and Serenity were jumped at the beginning of October. Kaiba's been increasing security around everyone's houses, and two people from the Japanese Ministry are working at Kaiba Corp. We met em after the attack. It was one of their owls I borrowed to mail you guys. The first rounds of the Regionals went fine too. No Orichalcos or nothing from what I could tell."

"Did you get through the first rounds?" Yugi asked excitedly.

"Of course," Joey grinned. "I'm now in the Quarter finals. Mako Tsunami made it too. And you'll never guess who I'm up against in the Quarter finals."

"Who?" Yugi asked.

"Espa Roba."

Yugi looked surprised, remembering the aqua haired duellist from Battle City who had ordered his little brothers spy on his opponent's hands so that he could fake being a psychic to freak them out. Apparently Malik was remembering him too.

"Wasn't he that kid from Battle City who went around claiming he had ESP?"

"Yep that's him," Joey said. "He's cool now though. He's not cheating anymore. He's refined his deck a little bit and he's been taking some of the local tourneys in the area by storm."

"Don't worry about it Joey," Yugi said. "I'm sure you'll do fine against him."

Joey shrugged. "I'm not worried, specially now you guys are back. You'll be staying for the rest of the tournament won't you? Quarter finals are on the eighth and the semi finals and final rounds on the ninth."

"That works out fine," Malik said. "We go back on the tenth."

"Switching tracks back, what about Kaiba?" Ryou asked drawing the conversation back to the more pressing issue. "Has anyone tried to attack him?"

Joey's cheer at the thought of the Regionals faded and he chewed his lip.

"Apparently some guys did try and get to him, about a week after they tried to get me and Serenity. They were planning on breaking into the mansion, but Kaiba had spotted them. They don't seem to be very familiar with our type of security, because they tripped quite a few alarms. Kaiba didn't say anything of course, but Mokuba called me later and told me he summoned Blue Eyes to get rid of them."

Inside his mind, Yugi felt Yami raise a mental eyebrow before silently asking for permission. Yugi sat back and allowed the Pharaoh control.

"Kaiba's been tapping into his own power much more since we left," he observed. This time Ishizu was the one to answer.

"His powers are slowly unlocking themselves. Were he to acknowledge and accept them, he would be almost at the same strength as the two of you," she inclined her head to both Yami and Ryou. "But so far, the only thing he seems willing to do is to call his most trusted monster to his aid."

"Wonder what Voldemort's making of all our summonings?" Malik mused. "If he was told what we did in Domino Park, and if the Death Eaters have seen Kaiba summoning Blue Eyes, then he must have realised what they are, especially if he's recruiting duellists."

"You think he'll try and access the power of the Shadow Realm or the Dominion of the Beasts for himself?" Joey asked. There was a snort as Bakura took control.

"He can't be accessing the Shadow Realm. If he were, we would be able to sense it. Besides, only the Items and those with connections to the past can tap the power of the Shadows, and I can assure you that Voldemort fits neither category."

They continued to theorise on how much Voldemort knew and how he could possibly find out about them, well into the trip. They were so engrossed, that no one noticed when the busy roads of Tokyo disappeared behind them, and they were re-entering familiar area of Domino City.

"My guess would be," Yami finally broke up the discussion an hour later. "Is the Orichalcos has been filling Voldemort in with visions like it did with Dartz. That was how he showed us the destruction of Atlantis during our duel."

"Speaking of Dartz," Joey said suddenly. "What was this you mentioned in your last letter about Voldemort being controlled by the Orichalcos like Dartz was?"

Bakura released control and Ryou's head perked up. Yami looked at him, waiting for him to explain and Malik filled in for everyone else.

"Oh yeah. It was Ryou's idea." He nodded at Ryou, who took this as his cue to speak.

"I did a reading on Halloween," he explained. "And something occurred to me. Yugi mentioned that the Orichalcos controlled Dartz. That it used him as the instrument to summon the Leviathan. I thought that it could be controlling Voldemort in the same way."

"As if we didn't have enough to worry about," Tristan muttered.

"You think the Leviathan might come back?" Tea asked, horrified. All three transfers shrugged.

"Admittedly when we first considered it I didn't think it was possible," Yami said. "But then again, we thought the Orichalcos was gone for good too."

"But didn't the Egyptian Gods destroy it?" Tristan asked.

"Yeah they did, didn't they?" Joey asked frowning. Yami nodded.

"They did, but we cannot rule out the possibility that the Leviathan may still be around."

"Yeah, just because you destroy something once doesn't mean it's gone for good," Malik pointed out. "Just look at Bakura. He's like a cockroach. He's been banished to the Shadow Realm I don't know how many times and he still comes back."

"Thanks Malik," Bakura said dryly, taking over again. "I appreciate the comparison."

"You're welcome," Malik said teasingly. As Bakura gave him a glare, the limo jolted to a stop and everyone jerked forwards in their seats, as they were not wearing seatbelts. Bastet fell out of Ryou's jacket and landed with a yowl on the floor. Bakura hurriedly scooped her up.

"The Ishtar residence," the driver announced from the front of the limo.

"That was fast…" Solomon remarked. No one had realised that they had been driving for almost two hours. A grin appeared on Malik's face as he peered out of the window.

"Home sweet home!" he grinned, grabbing his jacket and poking Ishizu impatiently. "Come on Sister, the door's right next to you!"

Ishizu rolled her eyes and got out of the car, Malik shot out after her as the driver went to collect his luggage.

"I'll see you all on Tuesday at Ryou's," he grinned. As Ryou would be spending the holidays alone, everyone had agreed to go play Monster World. "Don't forget to bring me birthday presents!"

"Malik!" Ishizu said reproachfully. The Egyptian boy ducked another blow to his cranium before darting behind Odion for protection. Everyone waved to the Ishtars as the driver shut the door again and drove off.

"Malik hasn't changed then has he?" Tristan asked.

"Nope," Bakura shook his head before taking on a musing look. "I have to say though, I will not miss him snoring this holiday, I promise you that."

OOO

It was three in the morning, when the Millennium Puzzle began to glow.

Yugi was sleeping peacefully, a stark contrast to the last time this had happened. That time, he had been tossing in bed, his mind buzzing with the worry of the monsters appearing in the city. This time, the rain beat down gently on the skylight above his bed, but the King of Games did not appear disturbed by this. The Eye of Horus glowed in the dim light, and Yugi found his previously dreamless sleep vanish.

He awoke to find himself being shaken, and a familiar voice calling out to him.

"Aibou. Yugi. Wake up."

Yugi opened his eyes and found himself looking at the concerned crimson eyes of the Pharaoh. He was lying on cold blue tiles and he repressed a shiver as he realised all he was wearing were his pyjamas. He pushed himself up in a daze, and shook his head to clear it from sleepy thoughts.

"Other me? Where are we?"

But even as he looked around he remembered this place. It was a giant hall with crystal pillars that stretched up to the high ceiling. Between the pillars the outside world could be seen, bright blue skies beaming into the room. In the centre of the room stood a dais, bare and empty. A breeze blew through the open pillars. Yugi looked around. He could almost feel the magic in the air here.

"Yugi? Pharaoh?"

Both turned to see Joey getting unsteadily to his feet. The blonde was clad in navy pyjama pants and a white tee, and was looking distinctly unnerved.

"Where on Earth are we? And how come I can see both of you?"

"We're in the Dominion of the Beasts," Yami explained, getting to his feet and pulling Yugi up with him.

"Oh yeah," Joey said, taking a sweep of the room. "I remember this place. That's where the dragons used to stand when they were statues."

He pointed to the empty dais. Both Yugi and Yami nodded, remembering where the three Legendary Dragons had stood, tall, proud and utterly frozen in their crystal prisons. Then they had been called to the dominion one by one, and pulled the swords out of the crystal and set the dragons free. They in turn had helped them in their last battle against the Orichalcos.

"Oh great," came a dry voice from nearby. "I'm hallucinating again."

Everyone jumped and Joey gave an audible groan as Seto Kaiba marched towards them, looking undeniably peeved as he always did when he was in the middle of something beyond his understanding.

"Hi Kaiba," Yugi greeted. "Nice to see you."

Kaiba grunted in response. It was clear that he could not truthfully return the statement to his rival, despite having not seen him for three months. His lips curved into a smirk as he observed the three standing before him.

"Nice pyjamas dorks," he said, sparing Joey and Yugi disdainful glances. Yami, who was fortunate enough to be wearing normal clothes, placed a hand on his hikari's shoulder and scowled at the CEO. Yugi blushed and looked down at his usual blue pyjamas with stars all over them. Joey just snorted and folded his arms.

"Better than yours Rich Boy. Who sleeps in their trench coat? Do ya really love it that much?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"Moron. I was still at work. I must have fallen asleep at my desk."

"At three in the morning?!" Joey asked incredulously. "I knew you had no life, but come on!"

Yugi and Yami turned away from their bickering friends in time to see a pinpoint of magic form behind them all. The point grew bigger, taking on a human shape, before finally it died away to reveal a familiar sorceress wearing a blue and pink dress and hat, and carrying a staff of the same colour. Her large green eyes looked depressed, but they brightened as soon as she saw the four people standing there.

"Welcome back!" she said happily. Joey and Kaiba immediately stopped arguing and they jumped as they heard the unfamiliar voice.

"Dark Magician Girl!" Yugi exclaimed, smiling at the appearance of one of his favourite monsters.

"She's not alone," Joey pointed out, as three similar shapes began to materialise behind the female sorcerer.

Even before they had completely materialised, Yugi and Yami recognised them. The three figures, all clad in armour appeared behind Dark Magician Girl. The first wore aqua green armour, and had a scar over one eye. The second wore dark blue armour and stood with their arms folded. The third wore red armour and looked calmly over the four guests.

"Whoa…" Joey said slowly.

"This can't be real," Kaiba muttered.

"Still think you're dreaming Rich Boy?" Joey snorted. Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"No I'm hallucinating Wheeler. Why would _you_ be in my dreams?"

Joey made to retort, but Yami jumped in quickly.

"That's enough you two," he warned. Joey shifted away with an irritated look on his face, and Kaiba just scoffed. Yugi however, was addressing the Knights and Dark Magician Girl.

"Why have we been bought back here? The last time we saw you all was just after Atlantis had sunk again."

"We told you we would meet again," Timaeus reminded him, before looking sombre. "If only it were under better circumstances."

"You knew the Orichalcos was back," Yami summarised. All four of them nodded sadly.

"As soon as the power was reactivated," Dark Magician Girl explained. "The Dominion felt it. As soon as another soul comes into contact with the magic, all the worlds feel it. We knew not who exactly, only that someone had."

"Voldemort," Joey scowled. Dark Magician Girl nodded.

"How did he get a hold of that power in the first place?" Yami asked. "I thought all traces of the Orichalcos were wiped out after the Leviathan was destroyed?"

"The Leviathan may have been stopped once," Dark Magician Girl said sadly. "But the fragments of Orichalcum have been spread from Atlantis since their arrival. The Dark Lord discovered the power, and the Dominion felt the reawakening of the Orichalcos as soon as he made contact with it. And now the Great Leviathan is threatening to return, both our worlds are in danger again."

"So the Leviathan is still alive," Yami sighed. "We were afraid of this."

"There is more," it was Critias who took up the story now. "Since the Dark Lord wields a magic different to that of the Orichalcos, it has made the reviving of the Leviathan easier than ever before."

"I don't know about the rest of you," Yugi said frowning. "But something feels a little off with Voldemort's intentions. Channelling all this effort into reviving one beast, albeit a powerful and dangerous one, doesn't seem like his style. Harry and the others told us about what he did in the past. Voldemort wants to control the world, but the Leviathan exists to destroy it."

"That is another cause for concern," Hermos explained. "Voldemort knows about the Leviathan, as the Orichalcos has filled him in on the magic's origins. But he thinks it is gone forever and he has no knowledge that in adopting the magic of the Orichalcos he has revived the beast once again."

"So he doesn't know he's brought it back?!" Joey spluttered. "That's crazy! We've got to stop him before he revives that oversized snake!"

Hermos nodded and continued. "We have been strengthening our defences so that it may never have access to the beasts that dwell here. But with the mix of Wizarding magic and the Orichalcos, we do not know how well the defences will hold."

"Added to which," Dark Magician Girl said slowly. "Mixing the different types of magic is extremely volatile. Not even we know what the effects on our worlds will be this time."

"What can we do to help?" Yugi asked, though he already had an accurate hunch. Dark Magician Girl turned to face the Knights.

"We have done all we can to stall the Leviathan's return," Timaeus said. "For now, we can help more by serving the chosen duellists in their time of need."

Joey began to grin. "You're going to help us again?"

"Indeed," Hermos nodded. "Though we felt perhaps that we could serve you better as dragons once again."

"You want to become dragons again?" Yugi asked, knowing that the three knights had been trapped like that for ten thousand years. "Are you sure?"

Timaeus looked at him. "Yugi, you still have the key to unlocking us do you not?"

"The k…oh the Legend of Heart card!" Yugi said. "Yes we've still got it."

Timaeus nodded. "Then we need not fear becoming dragons once again. You have the power to change us back."

All three of them stepped forwards, standing in front of their respective duellists.

"If you accept our aid, there is no turning back," Critias warned. "You are the ones chosen to wield our power, and must see this through until the very end. Do you all accept?"

"We do," Yugi and Yami said in unison.

"I'm in," Joey agreed. Kaiba just shrugged and muttered "whatever," but the Knights seemed to understand that that was as close to a 'yes' as they were going to get from him.

"Then in this fight you have our allegiance," Timaeus said. "We shall watch over you and aid you in battle. Until then, be careful."

The room around them slowly began to dissolve. Joey let out a 'whoa' of surprise, and Yami gripped Yugi's shoulders out of reflex.

"Until you call Chosen Ones," Hermos said, as the four figures began to fade from sight.

"If you need me," Dark Magician Girl's voice sounded slightly distant now. "You know where to find me."

"Right in our deck!" Yugi finished off, remembering what she had said to them last when they had said goodbye to her on the ruins of Atlantis. There was a giggle from the sorceress, and the scene vanished completely in a white flash.

Yugi sat upright in bed, gripping the Puzzle around his neck immediately. Yami fazed out next to him looking startled.

"That was more than a dream wasn't it?" Yugi asked. Before Yami could reply, there was a glow from the nightstand that caught both their attention. Yugi's deck was glowing with a silver light that shone like a beacon in the dark room. Finally it died down, and there, sitting on the top, was a very familiar card.

The Eye of Timaeus.

It looked like no ordinary Duel Monsters card. The background was a turquoise blue, with the Legendary Dragon as the card image. There was no card text, but Yugi didn't require it. He and Yami knew very well how this card worked.

Placing it back on top of his deck, Yugi replaced the cards on the nightstand and slumped back on the bed. He briefly considered calling Joey to see if the same thing had happened to him, but he knew Joey well enough to know that calling his house was not a good idea. Not only was it an obscene hour to be calling, but also even if Joey were awake to answer, he would be in serious trouble with his father, and Yugi did not want to be the cause of another argument between the two. He would call Joey tomorrow.

As Yugi lay back against the pillow, and as Yami returned to the Puzzle, both knew simultaneously, that they were never going to get any sleep tonight. This game was like a deadly chess game, and three new pieces had just entered the board. How would this affect the game in turns to come?

* * *

**A/N: **Okay I left you all in the lurch for a bit. I have reasons though. I've been going through a rough spot in my life. My Grandmother took a turn for the worse, and last Friday she passed away. I want to take this time to thank all my friends, who have been amazingly supportive during this past week. I love you all.

And thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. (punches the air) Oh yeah! Over 100 reviews! Awesome!

I put two random oneshots, one last week, and another yesterday if anyone wants to see them. They're not that long. They were both products of two hours on various trains.

I've also got another AMV up. I've given up providing links here, because they just never work. So just go to youtube and type Mei1105 into the search engine. Or you can go to the link in my profile page.

Don't forget to review!

And now just for fun…

OUTAKE FROM AUTHOR MEI1105!

"Still think you're dreaming Rich Boy?" Joey snorted. Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"No I'm hallucinating Wheeler. Why would _you_ be in my dreams?"

(Mei's eye twitches) Resist the urge to comment! Must repress Puppyshipping tendencies! Must repress!

(Muses knock Mei out before she can turn this into a Shonenai fic)

ADDITION FROM BETA ISIS THE SPHINX!

"Then in this fight you have our allegiance," Timaeus said. "We shall watch over you and aid you in battle. Until then, be careful."

The room around them slowly began to dissolve. Joey let out a 'whoa' of surprise, and Yami gripped Yugi's shoulders out of reflex.

(Isis has a full body twitch) Must repress Puzzleshipping tendencies. Must not lock pharaonic bishies in closet with aphrodisiac. (more eye twitching)

(Yugi and Yami are grossed out)

(muses come with syringe before Isis can beta in hints with Puzzleshipping)

No! No! Isis will be good! Isis won't put in Puzzleshipping! Isis promises! Noooooooo! (scream is cut off as Isis is injected)

(muses bow in apology) Sorry about that. Their imaginations get the best of them sometimes. We'll watch them more closely next time. (Mei, Isis, and various muses disappear)

(Yugi, Yami, Seto, and Joey all blink in confusion)


	14. Chapter 14: Festive Cheer

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or YuGiOh. I also do not own Monster World, shu cream, Santa hats, or Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

**Chapter 14: Festive Cheer**

Ryou placed the finishing touches on the diorama, before setting it gently on the newspaper to dry. He smiled fondly at the gift before packing up the paintbrushes. He had missed caring for and handling his favourite game. He had been up most of the morning putting together the new board piece, inputting the data into the computer, and constructing the board and campaign for the game that afternoon. He had lined up everyone's figurines next to the game table, all ready and waiting to be used, along with the two die that would determine the movement of the game.

"It doesn't look like me," said a testy voice from behind him. Ryou spun around in the office chair, picking up his half eaten shu cream and taking a bite. Bakura knelt in spirit form next to the table, glaring at one of the Monster World figurines. Ryou repressed a snort.

"Of course it doesn't look like you Yami, you aren't a four inch high lead figurine, or a hobbit," he pointed out. "And besides, the script is already plotted so you can't change your mind."

"I wasn't going to," Bakura shrugged, before frowning once more at the game piece. "I'm just saying it doesn't look like me."

Ryou sighed, and licked cream off the end of his thumb. One of the things he had discovered in the years of having Bakura as his other half was that if the yami was not complaining about something, then he was not happy. The thief trailed his fingers over the heads of the figurines, pausing to smirk as he reached Joey and Tristan. The figurines still bore holes in their heads from where they had been trapped by a falling roof of spikes in their first game. Ryou seemed to catch his yami's train of thought and immediately cleared his throat.

"Bakura, you promised, remember?"

The thief rolled his eyes. "Relax Ryou. I'm not going to seal anyone's souls away today. I had my fix with those two Death Eaters."

Ryou repressed a shiver as he remembered the fate that had befallen the two Death Eaters in the village, and he wondered briefly what Voldemort had done with the cards. He quickly tested the paint on the diorama and determined that it was dry enough to put into place. As he picked it up the doorbell rang.

"Figures," Bakura noted, as Ryou carefully slid the board piece into place. He grabbed the last of his shu cream and hurried to the door. He smiled as he opened it, and stepped back to let his friends in.

"Hey guys! Happy birthday Malik."

"Hey Ryou!" Yugi chirruped, bouncing into the hallway. "Hope we're not too early."

Ryou shook his head. "I just finished setting up the board, so you aren't too early at all."

"Yeah, looks like you also just finished lunch too," Joey remarked, nodding at the pasty in his hand. "You gonna eat that Ryou?"

Ryou raised an eyebrow and popped the last of his dessert into his mouth. "Never try and take my favourite food off me Joey. There's crisps in the kitchen, help yourself. Drink anyone?"

It took at least ten minutes to get everyone settled around the board (five minutes alone dedicated to Joey choosing what flavour crisps he wanted), a fact that was not helped by Bakura making snide comments about all those in the room that could not hear or see him. Eventually, Ryou ordered everyone to quiet and he began the game.

"You all know the rules, and can I take this opportunity to remind everyone that we let the die slide from our hands onto the board. We do not spin them. Clear?"

Everyone nodded, remembering the run of critical hits in the first game between Yami and Bakura, which had almost seen their souls sealed away.

"Game start!"

"Mine still doesn't look like me," Malik muttered, poking his figurine's platinum blonde hair. He was playing a human martial artist. "I swear I'm better looking."

"Funny, Bakura was saying that about himself earlier," Ryou said, tossing the die in his hand idly. "First move."

"We'll go to the town," Yugi said.

"Okay, five turns to enter the town," Ryou said pulling the lid off the diorama.

"There's no Honeydukes in this town," Malik pouted. Yugi and Ryou rolled their eyes.

"Talk about a one track mind," Bakura snorted.

"What's Honeydukes?" Tristan asked.

"Sweetshop in the village outside Hogwarts," Yugi explained, grinning. "Malik's developed a bit of a fixation for it."

Malik scowled. "Hey Joey would be exactly the same if he ever saw it!"

"…thanks, I think…" Joey said slowly, before turning his head back to the game. "Oi! Barkeep!"

"So what else did they have in the village?" Tea asked, as Joey began pestering the barkeeper in the game for information (a role which he always took up in every game with great enthusiasm).

"Loads!" Yugi beamed. "There's the sweetshop, two pubs, Dervish and Banges which sells equipment and stuff. There was Scrivenshafts, the quill shop. We never got to go to Zonko's. That was all boarded up and abandoned…"

"Whaddya mean no one's got any money?!" Joey yelled at the game piece. Everyone winced and covered their ears.

"Geeze," Malik muttered. "You get louder each time we play this!"

Ryou, who'd finally recovered enough to listen again, cleared his throat. "The old man looks at you wearily before replying, '_with the rise of the Dark Master Zorc, thieves have spread throughout the Kingdom. No one holds valuables any longer for fear that they shall be killed and robbed_.' With that, the barkeeper turns away."

"Thieves eh?" Malik asked, sparing a sly glance at the spectral form of Bakura. "Sounds interesting."

"At Malik's words," Ryou interjected. "An old woman approaches the travellers."

"Hey I was just thinking aloud…" Malik trailed off as Ryou moved one of the figurines behind the players.

"'_Adventurers heed this old crone well_,'" Ryou mimicked. "'_If it is thieves which you seek, then to the lake on the other side of the forest you should go. They are faster and far more cunning then Zorc's monsters, but if you can beat one, a much greater reward awaits you."_

"Awesome!" Joey cheered. "Let's get moving then!"

"Joey," Tea reminded him wearily. "We are here to defeat Zorc, not to go chasing after thieves."

Joey's shoulders slumped slightly.

"Aww fine," he muttered, before his stomach made its presence known to the table. "Heh, sorry guys. Haven't eaten yet today cept for those crisps."

"I'll take that as a hint," Ryou said, reaching for his wand, but Malik jumped in first.

"I'm seventeen now Ryou, I'll get it!" he grinned, and before Ryou could object, Malik raised his wand and shouted, "Accio sweet tin!"

Ryou winced as the tin slammed into the door, causing it to fly backwards into the wall behind it. The door handle embedded itself into the plasterboard, and Malik was knocked off his seat by the incoming sweets.

"Malik!" Ryou whined. "You know Charms isn't your best subject!"

The Egyptian appeared clutching the sweet tin, a dazed look on his face.

"Sorry," he said. Yugi pulled out his own wand and quickly repaired the damage in the wall.

"Cool!" Joey said excitedly. "Do that again!"

"No way!" Ryou said, horrified at the idea. "Father will kill me if I rip the apartment up!"

Joey looked dispirited, but he perked up as Malik threw a chocolate frog at him and began passing the sweet tin around. His own mouth was already working its way through a packet of Fizzing Whizzbees.

"In this area there is a chance of a random encounter," Ryou warned, as the figurines were moved across the board. He picked up the die. "The chance is thirty percent."

He dropped the die onto the board, and they clattered along the poly-resin surface, before stopping. The red die stopped on one, and the white on nine.

"The roll is nineteen," Ryou said, shaking his head and typing commands into the computer. "A monster appears!"

He placed the figurine on the table.

"A level four Gargoyle," he reported, checking the computer screen. "Hit points, a hundred and fifty. Warrior Joey rolls first."

"Alright," Joey said, picking up the die and dropping them onto the board.

"Seventy six," Ryou shook his head. "Joey swings and misses."

"Aww!" the blonde whined, sinking back into the seat.

"Martial Artist Malik goes next," Ryou ordered. Malik smirked.

"Lemme show ya how it's done Joey," he said. The die clattered along the board again.

"Forty two," Ryou read aloud. "Based on Malik's level and attack points, he needs thirty five or less to beat it. The Gargoyle takes damage."

"My turn," Tristan said, grabbing the die confidently. He knew it wouldn't take much more to kill the monster. Sure enough, a twenty-nine appeared on the die and Ryou smiled.

"The Gargoyle goes down. You each gained experience, plus some gold. Malik stop poking Joey with your wand."

Malik pouted and replaced his wand in the back pocket of his jeans.

"You realise if that went off in your back pocket, you'd end up with some nasty burns," Yugi pointed out. Malik rolled his eyes.

"Okay, the wand is going on the table. Are you all happy now?"

"Very much so," Ryou assured him, waving his own wand to summon a piece of honeydukes chocolate from the tin.

"I still think that's awesome," Joey muttered, grabbing another chocolate frog. He didn't seem that interested in the cards. Apparently his stomach took priority.

"Could you set something on fire if you wanted to?" Tea asked nervously. Yugi nodded.

"Only small fires thought. We don't learn anything too big until after we've done our fourth year texts."

"I dunno," Malik shrugged. "The glacius spell in our third year material could be pretty nasty if used against someone. Imagine, encasing your enemies in a block of ice."

He drifted off, apparently entertaining the idea. Ryou cleared his throat.

"Moving everyone?"

The players nodded. Ryou dropped the die again, and this time a fifty-five appeared.

"No monsters, carry on as normal."

"So what exactly are you all learning?" Tea asked curiously. "You've mentioned Charms and some of your other lessons in your letters."

"We're all taking Charms, Transfiguration, Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts," Yugi recited, moving his figurine forwards. "Malik's taking Ancient Runes, Ryou is taking Divination and I'm taking Care of Magical Creatures."

"It all sounds complicated," Joey remarked.

"Some of it is," Malik shrugged. "Depends on what you're good at. I'll be lucky to pass Potions, while Ryou is Slughorn's favourite."

Ryou scowled. "I'm not his favourite Malik. That would be Harry and Hermione, and I have a hunch he only likes Harry because he's famous."

"Don't fib," Malik scoffed. "You're his favourite. He's still finding it fascinating that someone who's only just been introduced to the magical world is so talented."

The albino blushed, and made another judgement roll. Once again, the number was higher than thirty, so the adventurers moved on.

"Where as he's despairing over you," Ryou pointed out. "How many cauldrons have you melted now Malik?"

"Five," Malik grinned, clearly proud of this fact. "Even Neville's impressed. He told me in his first year he only ever managed three."

Yugi and Ryou rolled their eyes, and Ryou typed some more commands onto the screen.

"Okay, ahead of you, you see a figure lying facedown on the ground."

"Déjà vu," Tristan remarked. Yugi too remembered the last time a character had been laid in their path. It had turned out that the character was Zorc in disguise.

"Do you ignore the person or do you help them?" Ryou asked. The five adventurers turned to look at each other.

"Nuh uh," Joey shook his head. "I remember the last time this stunt was pulled on us. That guy is probably Zorc."

"I don't know," Yugi said, thinking hard. "I doubt Ryou would try and pull the same trick twice."

"I don't like it," Tristan admitted. "But if it's not Zorc we could be missing out on some help."

"I think we should help them," Malik said. "Worst comes to the worst, we kick the guys ass. There's only one of him, and there's five of us."

Eventually, everyone agreed to help, though Joey still looked worried about it.

"I'll go poke him first just in case," he volunteered. There were a few raised eyebrows.

"Nah, I'll do it," Tristan said. "You always get to poke them. I wanna do it this time."

Joey shrugged, and allowed the gunman to approach the figure. Tristan's figurine gave the sprawled model a poke with his gun. Ryou allowed himself to smile as he stood the figure upright.

The reaction was instant.

"Oh…my…God," Tea said, trying very hard to stifle her laughter, as she had never seen this figure before. Only Malik and Yugi had seen this particular person before and they all gulped.

"It's Bakura!" Joey chortled. In spirit form, the real Bakura scowled again at the model. The figurine was short, with Bakura's trademark spiky white hair and red eyes. He wore brown leggings with several knives attached, but at Bakura's request, Ryou had given him a red cloak.

"It's not funny Joey!" Malik said. "We're about to get mugged by that psychotic hobbit!"

This wiped the grins off Joey, Tristan and Tea's faces instantly. Ryou chuckled.

"It's true I'm afraid. Thief King Bakura is a level five hobbit thief controlled by the Dark Master Zorc. He takes you all by surprise, allowing him to swipe ten gold pieces and Tristan's magic bullets."

"What?!" Tristan yelled. "This sucks!"

"Told you!" Joey said triumphantly. "Never trust the stranger lying in the middle of the path!"

"Bakura's speed is determined by die roll," Ryou said. "As of now, he is under the pay of the Dark Master, so I shall make the roll…"

//_Hikari…_// Bakura whined. Ryou sighed.

"Oh alright! Bakura shall make the roll!"

Everyone blinked as the yami took over and sneered at them all.

"Hehehe! The King of Thieves is back!"

"No soul stealing Bakura," Yami warned, taking over. Despite Bakura's mellower attitude at Hogwarts, he still did not trust the thief in a game yet.

"Have no fear Pharaoh," Bakura smirked. "I'm just here to do what I do best – steal your valuables!"

And he threw the die onto the table. They clattered to a stop and Bakura let out an evil cackle.

"Ha! Twenty-two! I'm getting away with your money and bullets Taylor! Sucker!"

Yami raised an eyebrow. "You're taking far too much pleasure out of this Bakura."

Bakura snorted. "Let me have my fun your highness." He moved his figurine to the other side of the board before retreating. Ryou gave everyone a sheepish look.

"Anyway…Bakura makes away with your valuables. Do you give chase?"

"Get back here!" Tristan shouted at the game piece. "I'm gonna rip your spiky hair off!"

"I'll take that as a yes," Ryou remarked, handing the die over. "As he is missing his magic bullets, Gunman Tristan's attack drops by half. You can either follow Bakura through the forest and to the lake, or you can continue on to Zorc's castle."

"I think we should go after him," Yugi suggested. "Tristan will be at a major disadvantage when we face Zorc if he's only got half his attack strength."

"The quickest way is through the forest," Joey pointed out. "And we all know that place is dangerous."

"You remember what the old woman said," Malik said. "The thieves hang out around the lake. Defeating thieves gives you more experience and greater rewards. Plus going through the forest gives us a chance to level up before we reach Zorc's castle."

There were no more arguments after this, especially since Tristan was itching to get after the thief who had swiped his bullets. In spirit form, Bakura smirked.

//_Hehe, good luck catching me you fools_//

/_Were you always like this in Egypt?_/ Ryou asked.

//_No_// Bakura snorted. //_Back then I really rubbed it in the Pharaoh's face whenever I robbed the tombs. I'd leave my mark carved on the back wall of the tomb, along with a message in thieves code saying '_better luck next time_!'_//

Ryou quirked an eyebrow, interested, but his attention was drawn as everyone made it to the forest. He flipped the diorama to reveal the pathway.

"The forest has an eighty percent chance of a random encounter," Ryou said, rolling the die. His face fell when a ninety-two appeared.

"Lucky," Malik remarked, moving his piece forward.

"When did you get the lake diorama anyway Ryou?" Joey asked.

"Yugi gave it to me for my birthday, which reminds me," Ryou said, suddenly remembering something important. "Thanks for the cards everyone."

"Nah, it was nothing," Joey said, waving off the thanks. "We thought you might like them."

"Are you kidding me?" Malik asked. "He trounced me with Zorc in our last duel!"

"We need to ask Dumbledore if we can use a room in Hogwarts to practise now that we've got the duel disks running," Yugi said. "The Great Hall would probably be best. It would save us going out in the snow at any rate."

"Ugh, I don't want to think about the snow," Malik said with a dramatic shudder. "Really, you think it's so pretty until you're actually standing in it. Then you realise how cold it is."

There were a few snickers from Yugi as he moved his piece.

"Yami agrees with you Malik."

"Judgement roll," Ryou announced as Tea moved her piece. He rolled the die, the red one landing on three, and the white on seven.

"Thirty seven," Ryou said. "Three monsters, all at level three appear before you!"

He placed the figurines on the table.

"Beast Tamer Yugi takes the first move," he said. Yugi took the die and studied the pieces.

"Okay, I'm capturing you," he said pointing at the monster on the left and rolling the die.

"You need fifty five or less to capture him," Ryou said as the die stopped. Yugi grinned as they landed on twenty-four. Ryou moved the piece to their side.

"You gain a new monster. Its Magician Tea's turn next."

"Speaking of new monsters," Malik said as Tea rolled the die. "I got new cards from Ishizu for my birthday."

"Cool, what did you get?" Yugi asked. Malik smirked.

"Uh uh uh Yugi, I won't ruin the surprise. Next time we duel you'll see them."

"The Beega is destroyed," Ryou reported as Tea sat back grinning. "Warrior Joey takes the next turn."

"Try to _aim_ this time," Tristan said dryly. Joey shot him a glare before rolling.

"Eleven," Ryou said. "The final monster is destroyed. You all gain experience as wall as fifteen pieces of gold. Beast Tamer Yugi also grows to level five."

OOO

"Beast Tamer Yugi and his three monsters attack Zorc," Ryou reported. "Zorc takes forty three hit points worth of damage. White Wizard Ryou lowers Zorcs defences by another five points."

Two hours into the game and all the adventurers had made it to Zorc's castle, and were currently fighting the boss monster himself. Yugi had to admire Ryou's creativity in this campaign. The adventures he created were always fun to act out.

The adventurers had followed Thief Bakura through the forest and to the lake, where they had picked up two more monster allies thanks to Yugi's beast taming abilities. Upon reaching the lake, they had confronted Bakura and after another fight (in which Tristan's bullets and their gold were returned), Bakura had told them of a prisoner that Zorc had trapped at the bottom of the lake. After paying Bakura half their money to release him, they had gained the prisoner as an ally. The prisoner turned out to be none other than White Wizard Ryou, who had been their friend's avatar when Bakura had turned their first game into a Shadow Game.

"Magician Tea's turn," Ryou said, bending down to pet Bastet, who was wrapping around his ankles. She had clambered onto her master's lap during the course of the game, and after falling asleep for a while; she had jumped onto the edge of the table. Ryou eventually removed her to stop her from chasing the die each time they were thrown. She looked up at the clatter on the table that signified Tea rolling.

"Eighty three," the Game Master sighed. "Tea loses control of her magic and is knocked backwards. You must skip your next turn."

Tea looked sadly at her figurine before handing the die back to Ryou. Bakura took over immediately. He had taken to rolling the die for his ex avatar during this game. He said it was because he liked to watch everyone squirm, but Ryou guessed he really just wanted to be more involved.

"Forty five," Bakura said, smirking in satisfaction. "Zorc attacks you all at once and cuts away a fifth of your hit points."

He vanished, with the smug grin still on his face, and Ryou reappeared. Next to Yugi, Yami was in spirit form, scowling every time the thief made his move.

"My move," Joey said, casting the die onto the table. He grinned.

"Ha! Twenty-three! Take that!"

"Zorc takes more damage," Ryou said, running the statistics through the computer. "He's down to one hundred hit points. Martial Artist Malik takes the next turn."

"He shoots!" Malik said, dropping the die. "He scores!"

"Thirty nine," Ryou said. "Zorc takes more damage, shifting into Last Zorc. His attack and defences rise. It's Gunman Tristan's turn."

Tristan picked up the die and dropped them onto the table. The grin slid off his face as he rolled a ninety-seven.

"Ouch!" Ryou winced. "Tristan's gun backfires and he loses all but five of his hit points."

Tristan cursed, but at this moment, Yami took control and raised a hand. Everyone quietened down.

"What is it Yug'?" Joey asked. Yami waved him silent, frowning as he strained his ears. This time everyone heard it. A faint tapping sound was coming from nearby.

"Is that someone knocking the table?" Tristan whispered, looking suspiciously over at Ryou. The albino knew the look was directed at his yami, who had controlled his roll of critical hits in their first game by knocking the table. Bakura appeared in spirit form looking exceedingly miffed at the accusation.

"Don't look at me," the thief snapped. "I've been dropping the die as fair as all of you!"

"He says it's not him," Ryou reiterated for the benefit of those without Millennium Items.

"Quiet!" Yami ordered, getting to his feet and walking around the room. He eventually came to the curtain behind Ryou, and pulled it open. There sitting on the windowsill was an owl. Everyone relaxed and the Pharaoh let the bird in.

"Who'd send me letters when I'm not at school?" Ryou asked, as the owl dropped the letter in the centre of the game board before soaring out the way it had come in. Bakura leaned over and eyed the letter suspiciously.

"Look, its smoking…" Tea pointed. Sure enough, the bright red envelope had begun to catch fire at the corners.

"I don't like the looks of this at all," Bakura said firmly, and no sooner had he spoken when the letter burst into flames. Everyone jumped and leaped away from the table, sending chairs flying in the process. Bastet yowled in alarm and ran under the desk in the corner. Yami, Ryou and Malik all reached for their wands, as a high cold voice emerged from the flames.

"_Message received and understood, Item bearers!"_

The three teens and two spirits looked on in horror, as the flames spat a card out before shrinking abruptly into nothing. The card landed facedown on top of the pile of ash that had until a few seconds ago been the scarlet envelope.

For a few second no one spoke. Then Joey decided to ask what was on everyone's mind.

"That voice…" he said swallowing the lump in his throat as he spoke. "Who was it?"

"I think," Ryou gulped. "It was Voldemort."

"What makes you so sure?" Tristan asked.

"After Bakura trapped the souls of Rudolphus and Ivan in cards, we posted them to Voldemort as a warning," Ryou swallowed fearfully. "He must have received them…"

He trailed off and everyone stared at the Duel Monster card facedown on the table. Tea reached for it, but Yami grabbed her wrist.

"Don't Tea, it might be cursed," he warned. Next to him, Malik frowned at the card, before pulling out the Millennium Rod and unsheathing the dagger. Carefully he reached for the card and poked it gently with the blade. When this yielded no harm, he carefully slid the knife under the card and flipped it open.

As one, everyone gasped and Ryou screamed.

The Seal of Orichalcos stared back at everyone, but unlike regular copies, this one was clearly used. Behind the dreaded six-pointed star, sat a person. A man with long dark blue hair and soft brown eyes, which gazed sadly out of the card. It could only be one person.

Ryou backed into the nearest wall, staring at the image in horror. Malik hurried to his side. Joey and Tristan swore, and Tea clapped her hands over her mouth. Yami looked horrified, and in a second Yugi had taken over again, and was running to Ryou.

For a second, Ryou did not know how to react. His mind had frozen in its tracks. He wanted to look away from the card, but he could not tear his eyes from it. They were locked on his father's face. He was vaguely aware that Yugi and Malik were supporting him as he sank down the wall and onto the floor. Only when Bakura appeared before him did he finally react.

"Ryou…"

The hikari burst into bitter sobs on Malik's shoulder. Two solid pairs of arms and one spectral pair embraced him, as he cried at the painful retaliation that had been dealt.

OOO

Yugi flicked the address book shut, mentally ticking off Rebecca and Arthur Hawkins on his mental list of people to contact. He still had to make one more phone call. Joey had promised to ring Mai and everyone else they knew, while Malik was double-checking with some of his contacts in Egypt to make sure that Death Eaters had sought none of the people from the Tomb Keepers clan out for information on the Items.

Malik had also dragged Ryou out of his apartment to stay with him and his family for the evening. Now that Voldemort knew about the Items and the bearers, Ryou was not safe on his own, even if he did have Bakura with him. Yugi knew that Yami had been on the alert ever since they had returned home, and had even volunteered to ask some of the Duel Monsters to stand guard over the house. Yugi had been touched by the offer, but he had reminded his darker half that if someone carrying Orichalcum came to the house they would sense it immediately. Plus he knew that his Grandpa kept his deck on him at all times now so all of them were very well protected.

Sighing, he placed the book back on his desk and headed for the door, intending to make his last call of the evening. As he did, his eyes landed on the top of his bookshelf, on the golden box that the Millennium Puzzle had lived in for years. During the last term at Hogwarts, it had been filled with the few spare cards he had decided to take with him. Now he was back home however, it held just three.

The God Cards.

He did not like using them for the simple reason that they were too powerful. Theirs was a power that went much further than simple attack strength. These monsters were very much real, and their powers great and terrible. Yet even as he looked at them now, he felt a pull towards them. Before he knew what he was doing, he had clambered onto the chair and was taking down the golden box.

They looked like any other duel monster card. Ink, paper, attack points, effects. Except there was an aura of power surrounding them, that even Kaiba at his most sceptical would not be able to deny. It chilled Yugi to think about that power, yet at the same time, the cards felt right when he picked them up out of the box.

Yami appeared beside him.

"They're too powerful," Yugi said immediately. The spirit nodded. "But…at the same time. It feels like, they're calling…like they want to help."

"The Gods wish to aid us," the Pharaoh said. "I agree, to use them against anyone would be too dangerous. But against the Orichalcos…"

"Even then," Yugi said. "There are so many things that could go wrong. We know the Orichalcos allows a person to control the Gods. Exchange, Change of Heart, Dark Necrofear, Brain Control, Reshef the Dark Being, Snatch Steal, Creature Swap. I know spells only work for one turn against the Gods, but that turn could be all that's needed."

Yami nodded in agreement. Yugi sighed and replaced the cards back in the box before firmly closing the lid.

"We'll see Yugi," Yami said. "If it comes down to it however, we may have to use them again to stop this madness."

Yugi nodded, hoping he was doing the right thing. Glancing up at the clock he hurried downstairs. His Grandfather was finishing up the dishes, having exempt Yugi from his chores after he had heard what had happened earlier. Yugi had rushed off immediately after dinner to phone Rebecca and Arthur. Now he picked up the phone once again and began to dial. A pleasant female voice answered after two rings.

"Good evening, Kaiba Corporation. How may I help you?"

"I need to speak to Seto Kaiba," Yugi said. "Tell him it's Yugi Mutou."

"One moment please Sir," the woman said, and there was a click as Yugi was transferred to another line. The phone was picked up impatiently.

"This had better be important Yugi," Kaiba grumbled.

"It is," Yugi said immediately. "It's about the Orichalcos. Something happened this afternoon that you should know about…"

OOO

Bakura sat on the floor of his soul room, fiddling with one of his knives. In a burst of anger, he threw it across the room, where it slammed into the wall with a loud clang, and clattered to the floor. Bakura's chest heaved. The noise, the violence, none of it was enough to release his anger properly. He wanted to rip something apart, torture a thousand souls, or else just kill someone, on behalf of the rage he felt and the sadness pouring off Ryou.

He had eventually managed to pick the lock on his host's soul room door and let himself in. He had found Ryou, huddled in the dark, shadow covered part of his soul room. He was horrified to see that the darker half of the room had grown extensively, covering almost three quarters of his hikari's soul in blackness. Only a small section remained light. Ryou was boxed into the darkest corner, knees pulled up to his chest, his whole body heaving with sobs. Bakura had eventually prised him out of the corner, and onto a few of the cushions that littered the light side. There he had fallen asleep, until about five minutes ago, when he had woken up, taken control of his body again and started to write to his sister.

Bakura groaned. He never had been too good at comforting people. So there he sat alone in his own room, throwing knives at the opposite wall. He was kicking himself silently. If he had known that taunting Voldemort like that would have such disastrous consequences he would never have done it. Now Ryou was miserable. Though he was no longer completely distraught as he had been when the card had appeared, he was still crying to himself. Bakura could sense all his host's emotions, and they only fuelled his own anger.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Bakura could not help but snort at himself. He really had grown a conscience. Half a year ago he probably would not have given a shit about what Ryou was going through. But things were different now. He remembered his own pain at the slaughter of his village. He squeezed the knife in his hand; not caring that he was squeezing the blade instead of the handle and that blood was trickling down his palm.

"We'll get him back Ryou," he whispered. "I swear to Ra, we'll get him back. And I'll rip Voldemort's soul from his mutilated body and feed it to the darkest part of the Shadow Realm."

And he threw the bloody knife brutally at the wall. It stuck there, ripping a crack down the stone. Bakura's eyes gleamed as he stared at the wound, his anger and frustration finally vented.

OOO

"Hohoho! Merry Christmas everyone!"

The mane of shaggy black hair was stuffed under a bright red santa hat, but it was easy to see who it belonged too. The slate blue eyes were glowing with excitement, as only a child's could at Christmas.

"Hey Mokuba," Yugi grinned. "Happy Christmas!"

The pre teen beamed and let them all through the front door. Christmas lights had been strung up around the hall, and the sounds of the stereo were coming from the next room. From the noise and the occasional shrieks of laughter, Yugi guessed that quite a few people were there already. Most of them were Mokuba's friends from school, as was evident when they entered the front room to find them playing video games.

"Nice turnout," Joey said, as Mokuba pulled a set of felt reindeer antlers onto the blonde's head.

"I know!" Mokuba grinned, throwing a tinsel wreath to Tea, and a red and green jester hat to Tristan. "So where's everyone else? Ryou and the Ishtars are coming aren't they?"

"Should be," Yugi said, accepting a Santa hat of his own. "Malik definitely, but I don't know about Ryou. Did your brother tell you what happened to his father?"

Mokuba nodded, his mood switching from cheerful to solemn in an instant.

"You'll get him back though won't you?" he asked. "You've got the dragons now!"

Yugi smiled and attempted to pull the red hat over his spiky locks. Unfortunately for him, a few of Mokuba's friends had spotted them and were now converging on the group. Yugi and Joey were immediately beseeched for autographs and duelling advice.

Kaiba chose this moment to enter the room. It was clear that Mokuba had not only bribed him into having the party, but he had also forced him to join in. The CEO looked extremely grumpy (well, more so than usual), his hands were firmly on his hips, and he appeared to be seriously regretting ever agreeing to his little brother's demands. Upon seeing the new arrivals, he smirked and marched over to them.

"Mokuba, I told you not to let stray dogs into the house."

It was perhaps fortunate for the bones in Kaiba's body that fans currently surrounded Joey, and therefore could not stride over and hit him for the dog comment. He did however, yell at him.

"You're lucky there's kids in this room Rich Boy!"

"Hey Kaiba," Yugi beamed. "Happy Christmas!"

"Likewise," the CEO grunted moodily. He turned his head to survey the group.

"Where's the rest of the dweel patrol?" he asked.

"On their way Big Brother!" Mokuba assured him, a silly grin on his face. Seto rolled his eyes, as if hoping for someone to spare him, before marching away.

"I want a duel later Yugi!" he shouted over his shoulder. Yugi sighed before nodding.

Mokuba shook his head. "If at any point this evening, you see Big Brother with his hands off his hips, can you run to the video camera and catch it for me?" he pointed to a video camera on a tripod in the corner of the room. "But make sure you're quick, because it will be the briefest moment when it happens."

Yugi grinned, and behind him, Joey chortled before running off to inspect the camera for himself. Yugi fought his way through the duel monster fans and into the corner of the room, which was apparently being used for all the food. He helped himself to a drink and watched as Tristan was dragged over to the video games, and Tea began chatting with Mokuba.

He was not alone for long however. Yami, intrigued by all the noise, ventured out in spirit form to watch. He smirked as he spotted Kaiba lounging against the opposite wall.

"So Kaiba is still nursing the vain hope that he might actually beat us?"

Yugi mentally poked him.

"Be nice Other me!"

Yami chuckled at his light, but his attention was caught as Kaiba looked over at the two. His eyes slid over Yugi before flicking over where Yami was standing. He shook his head before going back to glaring at the floor.

"I'm sure he can see you," Yugi commented. "He's just in denial."

Yami nodded. They had been debating the idea that Kaiba could see the spirits of the Items for a while. Certainly Yugi did catch his eyes drifting to Yami occasionally, but they never lingered long, as thought Kaiba was sure that a great calamity would befall him if he were caught staring at the Pharaoh. On the few occasions when Ryou was with them, and Bakura made himself known (which was rarely as the thief did not like the CEO at all) the same thing had happened.

It would certainly make sense, Yugi thought. Kaiba was the reincarnation of one of Yami's High Priests back in Egypt, so even without a Millennium Item he could still see the two dark spirits. Yugi frowned as he remembered how Ishizu seemed to be able to tell when the yami's were present even without her Necklace. Now that he thought about it, he had seen his Grandpa do the same. Did they have connections to the past too?

"It is possible Yugi," Yami remarked, picking up his partner's train of thought. "With the coming together of the Items, the people with connections to them are unwittingly drawn to them to. Ishizu and Grandpa may well be the reincarnations of people from Egypt."

Yugi sighed and sipped his drink. In truth it worried him that other people may have connections to the magic that seemed to govern their lives. As much as he tried to put it to the back of his mind, he knew that the path of the Items was one of extreme danger. Bearing an Item meant that he and the other bearers took on the responsibility, even if sometimes unwillingly. But how much danger would the people who did not chose that responsibility be? Would the Items make Seto, Ishizu and Grandpa suffer?

Yami placed his hands reassuringly on his Aibou's shoulders, turning his attention to the door. Serenity and a few of her friends had arrived and were being greeted by an excited looking Mokuba. Joey hugged his sister happily, before turning and grabbing Mokuba in a headlock, demanding to know why he had not been told that his sister had been invited. The younger Kaiba just smirked and pressed a button on Joey's antlers, making the ends light up and play Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.

"Look at Joey Yugi," the Pharaoh said. "He's not an Item bearer. Neither is Serenity. Or Mokuba. The Item's have made them suffer, just as they test the bearers and all those connected to them. They've all been through the dangers with us. And they survive because they are strong people. And ultimately, they make us stronger too."

Yugi smiled and relaxed, turning his head to watching two of Mokuba's friends, sitting on the floor playing Duel Monsters. He drifted around to get a better view, as the first boy sent one of his opponent's monsters to the Graveyard with his Shadow Ghoul. It would probably do he and Yami good to duel Kaiba later. It would help remind them that sometimes it was just a card game.

At this point, Mokuba cheered and charged at the latest group of arrivals. Ryou, Malik, Ishizu and Odion stood in the doorway, and were being greeted by the enthusiastic Kaiba brother. Malik was beaming, and happily fixed a santa hat over his own hair. Ishizu and Odion greeted Mokuba politely and thanked him for inviting them. Yugi was surprised, as he could not have pictured either Ishizu or Odion as being the partying types. It seemed however, that they were content to just get drinks and talk with Joey, Tristan and Tea, though Mokuba had apparently gathered that they would not accept novelty hats no matter how much he pleaded.

Hanging close to Malik's elbow, Ryou appeared quiet and withdrawn. Yugi had been wondering whether Ryou would have preferred to skip the party in light of what had happened to his father three days previously. Sure enough, despite the small smile that he was putting up for the crowds, Yugi could see a gleam of emotion still lingering in his eyes. Ryou was by no means over this latest attack, and it would take a while before he was. It was however, slightly comforting to see him attempting to interact with everyone.

Yugi suddenly felt a prickling at the edge of his senses. Inside his mind, Yami stirred again, as the feeling became more pronounced. Yugi felt his jaw burn as though he were about to be sick and the unmistakable surge of dread fell upon him.

"The Orichalcos," he muttered. He turned quickly, his eyes seeking out Joey in the crowded room. The blonde was over by the drinks table, a plastic cup filled with fruit punch in one hand, a handful of crisps in another. In a second however, he had replaced them on the table and he suddenly looked ill. Serenity looked alarmed.

"Big brother?" she said, as Yugi hurried to Joey's side. "What's wrong?"

"Can you feel it too?" Yugi asked. Joey looked up at his friend's voice, and into the large amethyst eyes, which were currently widened with fear.

"I felt it," Joey confirmed. "Wonder if Rich Boy…"

But his answer appeared immediately in the form of the tall foreboding CEO. He stood in the doorway to the kitchen, locked eyes with both of them, and jerked his head to one side. Yugi and Joey moved through the crowd, towards the third chosen one. Before they could reach him however, Ryou and Malik intercepted, both their faces pinched in worry.

"Guys we felt something…strange," Malik said simply. Yugi nodded.

"Come with us," he said, and all four of them made their way over to Kaiba.

"About time," he muttered, before turning and leading them through the kitchens.

"Erm Kaiba," Joey said now thoroughly confused. "No offence or nothing, but shouldn't we be finding where the Orichalcos is coming from instead of taking a tour through your house?"

"Idiot," Kaiba muttered. "Whoever is here must be after one of us. So we are leading them outside into the gardens, away from the rest of the people in this house."

Both Yugi and Yami had to agree that this was a smart idea. Better to have a confrontation with someone controlling the Orichalcos away from other people. No one would be hurt, and fewer awkward questions would be asked. And sure enough, rather than leaving the sickening feeling of the magic of the Orichalcos behind, Yugi could feel it following the group, stalking them like a predator. Yugi chewed his lip, before letting Yami in control.

The gardens at the back of the Kaiba house were small compared to what one would have expected from a man who owned his own successful gaming company, but then again, Seto had reasoned when purchasing the house, that they did not need a lot of space for just he and his little brother. A gravel pathway cut through the lawn, toward a small fountain. It was around here that everyone sat. Bakura shook the Ring, and the pointers pointed ahead of them.

"They're here," the thief announced. Kaiba rolled his eyes at the Ring's power. Yami stepped forwards, his boots crunching on the gravel.

"We know you're here!" he said to the gardens. "Show yourself."

"Must you always be so dramatic?" Kaiba asked in a dry voice. There was a pause and then the sound of boots, and a cloak on the stone pathway came within earshot, and out of the shadows, a Death Eater appeared.

* * *

**A/N: **All Monster World details can be found in volumes 6 and 7 of the manga. Also found in these books are some very pretty pictures of Ryou. I so want to play Monster World! It looks like so much fun!

I used to have a pair of Rudolph antlers that lit up and played the song. I wonder what happened to them…

Anyway, another duel next chapter. I spoil you ne? My lectures started again last week, but hopefully (touches wood and crosses fingers) updates won't be affected. Unless I happen to have a stack of assignments due in or something.

Reviews are like wind chimes – They're pretty, and I want to pat them…well when I'm sugar high at least…


	15. Chapter 15: End of the World

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, YuGiOh or any of the below mentioned Duel Monster cards, except for my Legendary Dragon fusion. That belongs to me! No stealing!

* * *

**Chapter 15: End of the World**

All five duellists took defensive stances. Beneath the hood, they could almost feel the Death Eater smirking at them. It was impossible to tell due to the cloak, which swamped their figure, but from the height, stance, and the tread of their walk, Yami guessed that this Death Eater might be a woman. His theory was proven not a second later.

"Looking for this, children?" came the sneering voice of the woman beneath the hood. From beneath her cloak a fine silver chain was pulled up by one finger, finally revealing a small green stone on the end. The Orichalcum shone briefly and the woman gave a dark chuckle.

"Alright enough stalling!" Kaiba snapped, his patience already stretched to a thin line from being forced to attend his little brother's party. "Who are you?

The figure swept their hood away from their face dramatically to reveal a long thin face with crystal blue eyes, which shone out dramatically from their face. Her hair was cut just below her ears, and was jet black with white streaks running through it. She sneered at each of them, and Joey's eyes widened.

"Marika Clarik!" he gasped. "I remember you! You were in the first rounds of Regionals last week! You got taken out in the last matches."

Makira flared up angrily. "Yes and to a kid of all people!" She jabbed an accusing finger at Kaiba. "Your little brother Kaiba!"

Kaiba looked temporarily surprised, but he too now remembered the brash young woman from the Regionals earlier that week. She had been Mokuba's last opponent. It had been a close match, but Mokuba had just edged her out. She had been furious losing to him.

Makira wasn't finished ranting however.

"If only they'd found me sooner…the Death Eaters were watching you know? While the rest of you went about playing your little games, they were watching the tournament. You never noticed because they never activated any of the stones. But they did find me. And now I've got more power than any of you could comprehend!"

"Yeah because we've _never_ heard this speech before," Joey said sarcastically. "Give it up Makira! Mokuba beat you fair and square! You just can't accept that the better duellist won."

Kaiba looked half pleased and half irritated that Joey had jumped in to defend his little brother (pleased because he was proud of his brother's skills, and irritated that it had been Joey to say that). Never the less, he stepped away from the group, reaching for his own duel disk.

"Let's get one thing straight Makira," he said angrily. "I have very little patience for amateurs who can't accept where they belong. My brother beat you because he is the better duellist. But if you want to pick on a Kaiba, try picking on me."

"Kaiba wait!" Yami warned. "If she's using the Seal it could be dangerous!"

"Save it Yugi," the CEO snapped at his rival. "This is my fight. And broken card or no I'm not letting her anywhere near Mokuba"

"Very well," Makira gave a malicious smile. "I like this plan better. Why take out the brat when I can take out the person dearest to him!"

Kaiba exploded. "Insult my brother again and I'll make sure it's the last thing you ever do!" The trays of his duel disk slotted into place and he loaded his deck. Makira did the same, her eyes flashing with malice, reflected by the stone around her neck.

"Let's duel!"

The life point counters registered at 8000 as the duellists drew their opening hands. On the sidelines everyone lined up for a good view, Yugi and Ryou fazing out of their soul rooms so they could watch.

/_He'll be okay_/ Yugi said, but it was clear from his tone that he was trying to reassure himself rather than Yami.

//_He'll be fine_// Yami said. //_He's fighting for his brother after all_//

The unspoken thought was shared anyway. Neither of them wanted to think what Makira might do to Mokuba if Seto lost. She seemed very bitter toward the younger Kaiba. On the other hand, Kaiba fighting for the one person in the world that he cared about was a force to be reckoned with.

"Ladies first," Makira said, drawing a sixth card. She checked them over briefly, still smirking, before selecting two.

"I'll set one card facedown, and one facedown monster. Your move Kaiba."

Kaiba was clearly not impressed as the holograms appeared.

"This won't take very long," he said, looking at his hand. "I summon X-Head Cannon (1800/1500)."

Before the CEO, a robot appeared, with two cannons strapped to its shoulders, mechanical fists that looked like they could deliver a nasty punch, and a spike ball attached to its lower body.

"Attack her facedown monster!" Kaiba ordered.

The cannons angled themselves at Makira's cards and twin burst of energy were fired at the set monster, which flipped up to reveal a purple coloured jelly-like mass. A blast of slime was fired at Kaiba, slamming into his chest before the monster disappeared.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 7500

Makira: 8000

"That was disgusting!" Joey winced. "What was that thing?"

"A Giant Germ (1000/100)," Yami replied with a wince. "And it just took five hundred points off of Kaiba."

"That's right," Makira nodded. "And now I get to special summon two more Giant Germs from my deck in attack mode."

The two cards were pulled from her deck and she placed them on her disk, the holograms lighting up and two identical purple cells appeared on her field.

The CEO scoffed. "That the best you can do? You'll be running home before the hour is up."

He slotted another card into his spell/trap zone before waving his hand to indicate that his turn was over.

"Hey Joey," Malik said. "You saw Makira duel at the Regionals didn't you? What kinda deck does she run?"

The blonde duellist shrugged. "I only saw her one match against Mokuba. Makira specialises in light and dark monsters. She used two monsters in particular against Mokuba, Vanity's Fiend and Vanity's Ruler. I think they were her favourites. But I don't remember seeing Giant Germ, so she might have some new cards."

On the field Makira gave a snort. "You're partially right Wheeler," she said. "While those two are still part of my deck I've reworked it since joining the Orichalcos. I've now got two new monsters who are even more powerful than my Vanity monsters…and far more destructive when mixed with the power of the Orichalcos."

She drew her card and smirked.

"First off, I'll set another monster in defence mode."

The card appeared next to the floating Germs, who shifted slightly so that they hovered lower to the ground.

"I'll switch my Germs to defence," Makira said. "And that's all for now."

Kaiba glared at her.

"Your moves are meaningless," he said, drawing from his own deck. "Allow me to prove why. I summon Y-Dragon Head (1500/1600) to the field."

Next to the floating cannon, appeared a small robotic red dragon.

"X-Head Cannon, attack her facedown monster!" Kaiba barked. The robot raised its guns once again and fired at the covered card. From beneath it emerged a hunched over skeletal figure, with rotting flesh and bandages covering its form.

"What?!" Kaiba asked in surprise. He honestly had not expected that. Especially when the creature's eyes glowed and eerie red and his life points dropped by another five hundred.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 7000

Makira: 8000

"Poison Mummy (1000/1800)!" Joey spluttered. "That's not a light or dark monster and it was never in her deck before!"

"He might not be light or dark," Makira shrugged. "But he has his uses. His defence is pretty good and his effect is very useful when competing against someone like Kaiba."

"I get her strategy now," Malik said bitterly. "She knows Kaiba uses more powerful monsters, so until she can get her own out, she's trying to burn his points away.

/_This isn't good_/ Yugi muttered.

//_He'll pull through_// Yami said confidently. //_Kaiba always does_//

"_These fools forget," _Makira thought. "_That as soon as I play the Seal of Orichalcos, all my monsters become dark. Attribute means nothing when you have that power on your side!"_

Kaiba ignored the theorising from the sidelines and pointed at one of Makira's Giant Germs. "Y-Dragon Head, attack the Giant Germ on the right!"

The dragon charged up a ball of electricity in its jaws before letting it fly toward the cellular mass. Just before it exploded, another glob of purplish goo shot straight at Kaiba.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 6500

Makira: 8000

"I'll end my turn there," Kaiba said, brushing off the holographic mess with a calm expression on his face.

"And that starts mine," Makira said, drawing and looking musingly at her cards.

"I'll start with Graceful Charity, which lets me…"

"Draw three and then discard two," Kaiba interrupted. "We're not amateurs Makira…well with the exception of the Mutt over there…"

Joey made a leap for Kaiba but Malik and Yami restrained him. Makira just smirked as the angel appeared from the sky and brushed a hand over the skull duel disk.

"Actually Kaiba, I plan to bend that rule."

She pressed a button on her duel disk and her trap card raised itself. A ghostly image of Marie the Fallen One appeared behind Makira, her own hand brushing over the duel disk in a similar fashion as the angel that had appeared for Graceful Charity. The two cards Makira had discarded came sliding out of the Graveyard slot.

"Disgraceful Charity brings the cards I just discarded back to my hand," the Death Eater said. "No questions asked. And what a hand that gives me…"

She plucked a single card from her hand and everyone gasped as her field slot slid open.

"The time has come to shroud all my monsters in darkness. I play the Seal of Orichalcos!"

The wind whipped around the small garden and the deadly green light exploded from Makira's duel disk. Kaiba gritted his teeth together and the spectators backed away from the Seal before it could shove them out of the way. The magical six-pointed star was traced into the ground beneath the duellists. Yami felt dread settle over him like a fog. There was no way that would have gone unnoticed by the people in the house. Pretty soon they would have an audience.

"We need to stop Mokuba and his friends from coming back here!" he called to his companions. "They'll be walking right into danger!"

"We're on it!" Malik assured him, seizing Bakura by the wrist and dragging the reluctant thief back towards the house.

"Hehehe…" Makira's sinister chuckle cut through everyone's worry. The Seal was now branded on her forehead, casting a red glow into her eyes, which seemed to have narrowed to look even more cruel and calculating.

"I'm going to take you down Kaiba!" she hissed. "And I'm going to make it hurt."

"Big words coming from someone who has to use an illegal card to win," Kaiba pointed out. Makira bristled.

"Shut your mouth!" she snapped. "Power is power! And it's all I need right now!"

She pulled another card from her hand and slammed it onto the disk with renewed vigour.

"I summon Ebon Magician Curran (1200/0)!"

Next to the one remaining Germ (1500/100) and the crouching Mummy (1500/1800), a small girl appeared. She was wearing a black dress and boots, and a black cap with a pair of rabbit ears sticking out of the top. She carried a pink whip in one hand, and her long blonde hair parted at the front to reveal the evil looking star of the Seal (1700/0).

"She's barely a child!" Yami raged. "How can you inflict the Seal on her?!"

Makira gave him a glare. "Haven't I made it pretty clear by now Yugi, that I despise children? Especially in this game! I worked hard to get to the Regionals, and I was beaten by some spoiled little brat!"

She turned back to the field. "I switch my Mummy and my Germ to attack mode!"

The monsters rose from their crouched positions and stared with angry glares at Kaiba, who did not flinch.

"Curran, attack his Y-Dragon Head!" she ordered. The tiny spellcaster raised her whip and it glowed pink briefly before it was flicked with a resounding crack at Kaiba's machine monster, causing it to explode into pixels.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 6300

Makira: 8000

"I activate my trap!" Kaiba shouted, and the facedown card raised to reveal an image of Axe Raider and the words "LV 4" printed above it. "Flat Level Four! It allows both of us to summon a level four monster from our hand or deck. I chose Z-Metal Tank (1500/1300) in defence mode!"

On his bare side of the field appeared a yellow robot with caterpillar treads and a single viewing lens (which looked spookily like an eye) at the front. Makira snorted.

"Scary," she said sarcastically. "I special summon Zolga (1700/1200) in attack mode!"

The fairy type monster was summoned to the field, its long purple cape just brushing the ground, and its silvery head taking on a greenish tinge from the Seal (2200).

"And since it's still technically my Battle Phase," Makira said. "Why stop attacking? Giant Germ, attack his Z-Metal Tank! And Zolga, attack his X-Head Cannon!"

The tank was covered in a purplish slime and it vanished very quickly. Meanwhile a blast of wind appeared from under Zolga's cape, which rocked the machine before shattering it.

"And finally," Makira said. "Poison Mummy, attack that snob directly!"

The rotting corpse lurched toward Kaiba, slamming its fist into his stomach. It was just enough to cause him to wince slightly, reminding everyone that the monsters were real under the power of the Seal.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 4400

Makira: 8000

"Had enough?" Makira asked.

"Of you?" Kaiba asked, as he drew his next card. "Yes. I place a card facedown and set a monster in defence. Its your move."

"Well that was disappointing," Makira said, drawing another card and studying her hand. "First off, since it's my Standby phase, Ebon Magician Curran's effect activates, dealing three hundred points of damage to you for each monster you have on the field."

The child sized magician began to glow with a dark purple hue, and Kaiba felt his life points drain away.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 4100

Makira: 8000

"Its time to kick my real strategy off," Makira said, placing another card on her duel disk. "I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands (1400/1000)!"

Kaiba growled under his breath as a fifth monster appeared before Makira. It was a strange being with grey skin and an uncountable number of arms stretching from every free space on its body. A face was discernable through the tangle of limbs, upon which the Seal of Orichalcos was branded like a stamp (1900/1000).

"That's not good," Yami muttered to Joey. "Now she can select any Ritual spell or monster from her deck and add it to her hand."

"But she never used no Ritual monsters in the Regionals!" Joey said.

"Weren't you listening Wheeler?" Makira asked as she flicked through her deck. "I said I changed most of the cards in my deck to support a new strategy! One that revolves around burning out Kaiba's points, meanwhile calling two beings of unstoppable power to my own field!"

"Would you select your card sometime this century?" Kaiba asked peevishly. Makira scowled.

"As you wish. I add Ruin, Queen of Oblivion to my hand!"

Kaiba looked slightly alarmed by this. Clearly he knew of the monster she had selected. He schooled his face back into his usual mask though very quickly. Makira had not noticed this however as she was still talking.

"A pity you won't get to see her summoned," she said. "Unless that facedown card of yours can help you I'll finish you off this round. Oh well. Maybe one of your little friends wants to take me on next and they'll get to see it…"

"They're not my friends!" Kaiba snapped. "Just finish your move!"

Makira looked a little surprised, but she just shrugged.

"_I know Kaiba's deck," _she thought. "_Ring of Destruction wouldn't help him and Negate Attack would only delay me for one turn. So unless that facedown is a Crush Card Virus I don't have anything to worry about. Even if it is, it only lasts for three turns and I've got plenty of ways to get Ruin back in my hand."_

"Curran, attack his facedown monster!" she commanded.

Everyone knew as soon as she called the attack, that she had made a mistake. Kaiba smirked as the whip came into contact with the card, which flipped over to reveal a small metal round shaped monster with a blue face, which immediately began to whir like a vacuum cleaner.

"You just flipped my Cyber Jar (900/900)!" Kaiba said smugly. "So now all monsters on the field are destroyed!"

Makira cursed as all five of her monsters tried to anchor their feet to the ground to avoid the whistling winds. One by one they were lifted off the ground and sucked into the jar, which as the last monster vanished, shattered into pieces, taking them with it.

"Damn it!" the Death Eater snapped.

"Fool," Kaiba taunted. "You were so busy thinking about my facedown card you didn't stop to think what my monster might have been. Now you're paying the price. Now we each pick up five cards from our decks and summon any monsters that are level four or below to the field."

They both did just that, Kaiba now holding a total of eight cards, and Makira eleven. Kaiba selected two of his cards.

"I summon Peten the Dark Clown (500/1200) in defence mode, and Vorse Raider (1900/1200), also in defence. Soul Release, White Dragon Ritual and Cost Down go to my hand."

Both the cards, facedown on the field appeared. Makira looked at her own cards and scowled.

"I summon White Magician Pikeru (1200/0) in defence mode! And these four go to my hand. Solemn Wishes, Poison of the Old Man, Samsara and Negate Attack."

She did just that, before looking back over her hand to continue her move.

"I'll set two cards," she said, the holograms appearing behind the facedown Pikeru. "And I'll activate the Poison of the Old Man that I just drew."

From the card, a wizened old man appeared, carrying in his hands two potions, one green and one purple. He turned and offered them to Makira, who paused to consider them thoughtfully.

"I remember this card," Joey groaned. "She's rather fond of it. She chooses its effect, either she can do eight hundred points of damage to Rich-Boy, or she can increase her own life points by twelve hundred."

This time, the Death Eater Duellist, who had opened her mouth to explain just this, scowled at Joey. "Stop stealing my lines Wheeler! I choose to gain twelve hundred life points!"

The old man cackled in a wheezy voice, and offered Makira the green flask. The Death Eater drowned it instantly and her life points skyrocketed.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 4100

Makira: 9200

"That'll do for my turn," Makira said, grimacing at the bitter aftertaste of the potion. "And since I have seven cards, I'll discard Vanity's Fiend to keep my hand limit down."

She shoved the card into the Graveyard with little care.

"I thought that monster was one of your favourites?" Yami asked. "How can you just discard her like that?!"

Makira shrugged. "She's of no use right now, and she'll do better in the Graveyard."

Yami looked furiously at her. "That's despicable."

The Death Eater just gave him a look. "Don't tell me how to manage my cards Yugi!" she snapped. "Why keep Vanity's Fiend when she'll be more help to me in the Graveyard? Besides, I've got Ruin in my hand and her partner in my deck. I don't need my Vanity monsters to win!"

"Are you done?" Kaiba snapped. "I'd like to take my turn!"

He pulled a card from his deck and smirked.

"Perfect."

"Before you make your 'perfect' move," Makira snapped. "I'll activate one of my trap cards."

"Let me guess," Kaiba said dryly. "Solemn Wishes?"

"Naturally," Makira said. "Now I gain five hundred life points each time I draw a card."

"Fine," Kaiba said. "First I'll play a life points gaining card of my own. Soul Absorption gives me five hundred life points each time a card is removed from play!"

The spell card appeared on his side of the field, as Kaiba plugged another in beside it.

"Next I'll activate Soul Release, removing X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal Tank from play!"

Ghostly images of the three monsters appeared from Kaiba's graveyard, and Soul Absorption glowed.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 5600

Makira: 9200

"What was the point in that?" Makira asked.

"This," Kaiba said. "I reveal my facedown trap. Return from the Different Dimension!"

His trap lifted, and Kaiba winced as half his life points were drained away.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 2800

Makira: 9200

"I give up half my life points," Kaiba ground out. "To special summon all three of my XYZ monsters back to the field."

A swirling vortex appeared above Kaiba's head, and from it, dropped the three robotic monsters.

"I'll ask again," Makira said impatiently. "What's the point?"

"This," Kaiba said. "I'll remove them from play once again, to summon my XYZ-Dragon Cannon (2800/2600). Now my three monsters! Combine!"

The three monsters suddenly began to transform before the eyes of the spectators, shifting and changing before combining together, with Y-Dragon Head resting on top of Z-Metal Tank. Crowning them both was X-Head Cannon. Soul Absorption once again activated.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 4300

Makira: 9200

"Now, since I know that facedown is probably Negate Attack," Kaiba said. "Why don't I just get rid of it? I discard a card from my own hand to destroy it!"

Makira scowled as the cannons were pointed at her trap. She had a second to blink before Negate Attack was blasted off the field.

"Oh well," Kaiba said. "Too bad for you. I'll switch my Peten and Vorse Raider to attack mode."

Both the monsters appeared standing on their cards. Peten was a mischievous looking clown with a yellow and green outfit, and a giant red hat, which he tipped at the unimpressed looking Makira. Vorse Raider by contrast, was a hulking beast with blue and green armour encasing powerful looking muscles, and wielding a very deadly looking axe.

"Peten, attack her White Magician Pikeru!" Kaiba commanded. "Blood lust slash!"

The clown gave an almost sinister sounding cackle, before pulling out a small dagger from his waistcoat and plunging it into the facedown card, which flipped up to reveal the small blonde magician, more commonly known as Pikeru. She gave a squeal of pain before vanishing.

"Vorse Raider! XYZ-Dragon Cannon!" Kaiba shouted. "Attack her directly!"

Vorse Raider went in first, slashing at Makira with his axe and causing her to clutch her stomach. As she raised her head, she was blasted by XYZ-Dragon Cannons artillery, which left her kneeling on the ground trying to get her breath back. Kaiba gave a satisfied smirk.

"That will teach you to mess with my family."

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 4300

Makira: 4500

On Makira's forehead, the Seal seemed to shimmer with suppressed anger. It grew more vibrant as she stood up, and as she faced Kaiba, her eyes narrowed and she snarled at him.

"You are going to pay for that!"

"Sure," Kaiba said, in a voice that screamed disbelief. "But for now I'll just set a card facedown and call it a turn. Your move, if you really think you can dig your way out of this."

Makira looked livid, and she drew so hard that she almost ripped the card clean in two. Solemn Wishes began to glow and her body was bathed in a white light as her life points increased. She didn't seem to be paying attention though, and cackled as she examined what she had just drawn.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 4300

Makira: 5000

"It would seem that the Orichalcos is bringing me luck!" she said. "I remove Vanity's Fiend and White Magician Pikeru from play to special summon my Chaos Sorcerer (2300/2000)."

A figure shrouded in black appeared, the shadows fading away to reveal a man in black and purple armour, with two balls of flame, one white and one black, in each hand. As they watched, the Seal was branded onto his forehead, and interestingly, the magical fires in his hands turned green too (2800/2000). Kaiba however did not appear worried.

"Why thank you," he smirked. "By removing more monsters from play, you just increased my life points by one thousand."

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 5300

Makira: 5000

"Doesn't matter!" Makira snapped. "You obviously don't know about my Chaos Sorcerer's effect! Once per turn I can remove a monster on the field from play, providing I'm willing to give up his attack! And that's just what I'm going to do to your XYZ-Dragon Cannon!"

The spellcaster raised his hands, and the flames grew to massive size, before shooting toward the machine. Kaiba however just tapped the button on his duel disk.

"Reveal trap card! Interdimensional Matter Transporter!"

Makira realised what was going on just as the flames hit the spot that the robot was standing, as a bizarre looking purple and green device materialised next to Kaiba and zapped his Dragon Cannon, causing it to vanish from the field. Soul Absorption glowed again.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 5800

Makira: 5000

"You're too kind!" Kaiba said. "Thank you for the extra life points!"

"Shut it!" Makira snapped angrily, but she was starting to look worried. As her monster had used its ability she couldn't have it attack, meaning that next turn when Kaiba's Dragon Cannon returned it would be useless. Unless…

"I'll set a monster facedown," Makira said. "And that'll be it."

"About time," Kaiba said. "And now, its time for me to end this."

He drew and waved a hand at the field. Interdimensional Matter Transporter began glowing again, and his XYZ-Dragon Cannon reappeared as though it had never left.

"My Dragon Cannon is back," Kaiba announced. "And now your Chaos Sorcerer is gone! I discard another card to destroy it! Tough break!"

Chaos Sorcerer seemed to recoil slightly as the cannons were trained on him and fired. He vanished from the field in a blast of light.

"And now, Vorse Raider, attack her facedown monster!" Kaiba roared. The beast-warrior roared equally as loud and slammed its axe onto the monster with crushing force. It flipped up to reveal a tiny old man with grey hair and red robes.

"Oh no!" Kaiba recoiled and Makira began to cackle.

"Did you really think I was down and out?!" she demanded. "Old Vindictive Magician (450/600) will take one of your monsters to the Graveyard with it! And guess who I'm picking?!"

XYZ-Dragon Cannon crackled with electricity before exploding into pieces. Kaiba growled.

"I switch Peten to defence mode and end my turn."

"Fine!" Makira said, pulling a card from her deck and smirking as her life points went up.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 5800

Makira: 5500

"Its time for you to meet one of the stars of my deck," Makira said. "First I'll summon Sonic Bird (1400/1000) to the field."

Before her, an eagle with brown feathers and a white head appeared. It would have looked normal were it not for the goggles over its eyes, and the jet pack on its back. Behind the goggles, the Seal of Orichalcos was just visible.

"His ability lets me take a Ritual spell from my deck and add it to my hand," Makira said. "And I think you can guess what I'm choosing. The spell card, End of the World."

She plucked the card from her deck and set it in her hand before pulling out another card.

"And now I'll activate Premature Burial, giving up eight hundred life points to special summon back Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands!"

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 5800

Makira: 4700

The bizarre looking fairy reappeared next to Sonic Bird. Next to it appeared a spell card.

"And for the last of my components," Makira said. "I'll activate the spell card, Samsara! Now instead of going to the Graveyard, any monsters used to summon a Ritual monster go back to my deck!"

Yami, Kaiba and Joey all saw the logic in this move. Not only would Manju and Sonic Bird returning to her deck allow Makira to use their effects again, but it would also provide her with a replenishing supply of tribute bait.

"And now I'll activate End of the World!" Makira shouted gleefully, plugging the spell card into her disk. "I offer Manju and Sonic Bird as tributes to call forth, Ruin, Queen of Oblivion (2300/2000)!"

The monsters were swallowed by the flames of the ritual spell, which cleared to reveal Ruin. She was tall, with long white hair that came down to the back of her knees, topped with a red and black headdress. Her long dress was red and black, and she wore long black gloves and carried a long red deadly looking staff. Completing this picture was the Seal, glowing from between the stray wisps of white hair that hung in front of her face (2800/2000).

"That is the most evil looking fairy monster I've ever seen!" Joey remarked.

"Say goodbye to your Vorse Raider!" Makira said. "Ruin, attack with your Sceptre of Obliteration!"

The demonic fairy smirked and raised her staff, energy charging up at the end. She swung it down with surprising agility and force at Vorse Raiders head. The beast warrior roared in pain before vanishing.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 4900

Makira: 4700

"I'm not done," Makira taunted. "Ruin, attack Peten the Dark Clown!"

"What?!" Kaiba demanded in surprise, as the fairy repeated the attack, causing Peten to disappear in a haze of destructive light energy.

"You've probably figured this out already," Makira said casually. "But if Ruin destroys a monster in battle, she can attack once more!"

"I'd noticed…" Kaiba growled, sounding remarkably like one of his dragons. "However when Peten the Dark Clown is sent to the Graveyard, I can remove him from play to special summon another one."

Makira shrugged. "Fine then. Go ahead and summon another. It's not like he'll be around for long."

"And don't forget," Kaiba pointed out as he flicked through his deck. "Soul Absorption means that I get another five hundred points."

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 5400

Makira: 4700

No sooner had his life points increased, than another copy of Peten appeared on the field. This clown sat cross-legged in defence mode, and blew a loud raspberry at Makira, who looked unimpressed.

"Yes, yes, whatever," the Death Eater said impatiently. "I'm ending my turn. So make yours quickly so I can finish you off and claim your soul."

Kaiba's response was a roll of the eyes as he drew.

"He'd better have something planned," Joey muttered. "Else that Queen of hers is gonna take a huge chunk out of his life points next turn."

"He'll be fine," Yami assured him, feeling more confidence in his words as Kaiba studied what he had just drawn. Having known the CEO for years, Yami's eyes opened wide. From the way Kaiba's gaze focused on what he had just drawn for just a little bit longer than normal, and the way he seemed to straighten slightly, Yami knew what had just happened.

He had just drawn his Blue Eyes.

"I activate the spell card, Cost Down," Kaiba said, plugging the spell card into his disk and placing another card into the graveyard. "I discard a card, and all my monsters in my hand are instantly downgraded by two levels."

Makira's eyes slid to Peten, from the way they widened in alarm, she knew _exactly _what was about to unfold.

"You think your Queen rules the field," Kaiba taunted, removing Peten from his disk. "But she's nothing compared to my ultimate beast!"

Peten vanished in a blinding white light, from which two bright shining eyes suddenly became visible. As the light cleared, glowing white scales shone, and Kaiba's signature monster gave a recognisable roar of anger (3000/2500).

"Behold, my Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

OOO

Neither Bakura nor Malik had ever claimed to be good with kids. So trying to make sure no one in the building attempted to race into the gardens to investigate the random glowing green light that had appeared when the Seal had been activated, had been a severe test of both their patience.

It was fortunate for their sakes, and for the children's souls, that they were not alone in there.

Ishizu, Tea and Serenity might not have been able to sense the dark magic of the Orichalcos, but they were women, and therefore, had their own way of sensing that something was wrong. They had managed to persuade the kids to ignore the random light explosions, passing it off as Christmas fireworks a few streets away, and start a spirited game of Twister. Once the pre-teens were occupied, Malik and Bakura explained everything to the group.

"So Kaiba's duelling a Death Eater?" Tristan had asked.

"Yep," Malik nodded. "And she's played the Seal."

Everyone exchanged worried looks.

"We should go and support them," Tea said. "If by chance he loses this Death Eater might want to duel Joey or Yugi."

"You really think that's wise?" Bakura asked, folding his arms. "If Kaiba does lose and she randomly decides to go after someone else, what's to stop her from calling an all out war against us like those people in the park, and sealing all of you?"

As if on cue, there was a distinct roar from outside, which all the duellists had no trouble recognising as Blue Eyes. Everyone felt a slight measure of relief. If Kaiba had Blue Eyes out, he must have the upper hand.

"Bakura's right," Malik agreed. "Besides, if we go rushing out into the gardens, Mokuba and his friends will follow, putting even more people at risk."

At his words, Serenity looked around the room and gasped.

"Where is Mokuba?" she asked in alarm.

OOO

On the surface, Makira did not appear frightened, but there was a noticeable spark in her eye that betrayed worry, and the fact that she was grinding her teeth together made it clear she had not banked on this happening. Yami couldn't repress a smile of satisfaction. Makira had just lost her advantage.

"Your Queen is about to be dethroned!" Kaiba gloated. "But first, I remove the Peten the Dark Clown I just tributed to special summon the third one from my deck!"

The third Peten was no different from the first two, and gave a chuckle at the Death Eater. Soul Absorption went to work, boosting Kaiba's life points further.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 5900

Makira: 4700

"And now, Blue Eyes, attack Ruin! White Lightning attack!"

The dragon roared in joy, a ball of white energy charging up in her jaws before eclipsing the terrified looking Ruin. When the attack cleared, there was nothing left on Makira's side of the field, but Solemn Wishes and Samsara.

"And that's not all!" Kaiba said. "Peten the Dark Clown, attack her directly!"

The third clown of the evening did a back flip for show, before bouncing over to Makira and embedding the dagger somewhere in her heart.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 5900

Makira: 4000

"Seto!" came an alarmed voice. Joey and Yami spun round to see a shocked and worried Mokuba standing behind them. The raven-haired boy had clearly not expected to see his brother duelling, much less duelling a Death Eater inside the Seal.

"Mokuba!" Seto was apparently just as surprised to see his brother standing there. "Get back in the house!"

It wasn't fast enough. Makira's sadistic gaze had locked onto the boy. To everyone's surprise, Mokuba stood his ground and glared back.

"Makira! What do you think you're doing to my big brother?!"

"Getting revenge you little brat!" the Death Eater spat. "And straight after I feed his soul to the Orichalcos, you're next Mokuba!"

The boy squared his jaw. "No chance! If I could beat you, Seto can do it without breaking a sweat!"

"We'll see about that!" the Death Eater snapped. "My move!"

Scowling over the tops of her cards, Makira studied her hand and frowned, drawing little comfort from the five hundred-point boost she gained from Solemn Wishes.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 5900

Makira: 4500

"This will shut you up for a bit," she muttered, slotting another spell card into her disk. "Nightmare's Steelcage!"

Around she and Kaiba, identical pillars of flame began to appear, surrounding each duellist and arching to meet above each of their heads. The flames cooled, forming a cage around each of them.

"Great," Joey muttered irritably. "Now neither of them can attack for two turns."

"And I'll play another card," the Death Eater said. "The spell card, Different Dimension Capsule!"

Kaiba growled as a blue sarcophagus emerged from the ground. Makira pulled her deck out, selected one card and pocketed it. The hologram appeared on the field, vanishing into the sarcophagus, which then sunk back into the ground.

"In two turns, the card I just removed from play is added to my hand," Makira informed everyone. "And the card I chose – my second copy of End of the World!"

"That's true," Kaiba said. "But since you just removed a card from the game, Soul Absorption gives me another five hundred life points. And besides, if I destroy that capsule before your second Standby phase then the card is permanently removed from play."

Makira shrugged. "That's a risk I'm willing to take Kaiba. It's your move."

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 6400

Makira: 4500

The CEO smirked as he drew. "How sad. That capsule didn't even last one of your standby phases. I activate Heavy Storm!"

Makira's curses were swallowed up by the howling winds that suddenly whipped around the gardens, causing everyone to shield their eyes. Makira's cloak and Kaiba's trench coat billowed about in the storm. When everyone removed their hands, the field was devoid of spells and traps. The Seal of Orichalcos of course, remained where it was.

"And now that there's nothing stopping me," Kaiba smirked. "Blue Eyes, attack her directly!"

Makira fixed her feet into the ground, just as the lighting was blasted her way. It didn't help, and the Death Eater was blasted backwards into the wall of the Seal, where she was pinned there until the attack subsided. She slumped to her knees, her arms trembling as she tried to remain off the ground.

"And finally," Kaiba added. "Peten, Blood Lust Slash!"

Once more, the clown gave a mad chuckle before slashing at the Death Eater with his dagger. He was still giggling as he retook his space before Kaiba.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 6400

Makira: 1000

"You might as well just stay there," Kaiba smirked. "Because it's only going to get worse!"

"I'm…not…down yet…Kaiba," Makira rasped, struggling to rise. Smoke was rising from her cloak, and she looked dishevelled as she got to her feet. But the mad glint in her eye from the Orichalcos had increased tenfold.

"You're going to pay for that!" she finally screeched. "No one knocks me down like that! Not you! Not your stupid brother! No one!"

Blue Eyes it seemed did not take kindly to that remark, and gave an angry growl, which was eclipsed only by that of her master, who looked ready to blow his top.

"Listen you pathetic excuse for a human!" Kaiba roared. "No one, and I mean no one insults my little brother, least of all in my presence!"

"Cry me a river you rich snob!" the Death Eater spat. "Now if you have nothing else to do…"

Still seething, Kaiba waved her on. Makira drew shakily.

"Finally," she muttered, plugging the card into her disk with a measure of relief. "Card of Sanctity! We draw until we're holding six cards!"

Kaiba just smirked wider. "That helps me just as much as it helps you."

"Shut it!" Makira spat, drawing five cards into her hand, while Kaiba drew four. Makira appeared irritated, and set a facedown monster and a facedown card before waving her opponent on.

"A full hand and all you can do is defend," Kaiba scoffed. "Pathetic. I summon Kaiser Sea Horse (1700/1650)!"

The blue and purple skinned Sea Serpent appeared on the field, trident clutched menacingly in his left hand.

"Peten, attack her facedown monster!" Kaiba ordered. Makira's card flipped up as the clown skewered it on its knife, to reveal a young girl in purple robes, carrying a crescent moon staff. Makira growled.

"Since you flipped my Magician of Faith, I can bring back End of the World!"

The spell card reappeared from the graveyard, but Kaiba just scoffed.

"That makes no difference! Blue Eyes, attack her directly and end this duel!"

The dragon's powerful attack was released, but Makira's facedown card flipped up, and a barrier, into which the white lightning was absorbed, surrounded her.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 6400

Makira: 4000

"Thanks Kaiba!" the Death Eater taunted. "Draining Shield stops your attack and adds the attack points to my life points! Didn't go quite as you expected huh?"

Kaiba growled, grinding his teeth together, and signalled briefly to Kaiser Sea Horse, who appeared angry on behalf of his master as he brought his glowing staff down on top of Makira's head. The Death Eater rubbed it scowling as her life points adjusted and Kaiba waved her on angrily.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 6400

Makira: 2300

"Then its time," Makira said, drawing and studying her hand with open glee. "Seems you were wrong when you said I couldn't do anything but defend. I was just waiting for the last card I needed to complete my strategy and summon my ultimate…"

"For the love of Ra, shut up and make your move already!" came an irritated voice. Everyone turned to see Malik and Bakura had returned, and the latter had his hands cupped around his mouth, and an irritated scowl on his face.

"Looks like you were right Malik," he said in a normal tone, looking at Mokuba as he spoke. "He did come outside to see the duel."

"Aren't I always right?" Malik said smugly, before turning to Yami and Joey. "Ishizu and the others are watching the guests."

"If you don't mind!" Makira bawled, drawing all attention back to her. "I'd like to make my move!"

"Then make it already!" Kaiba snapped. "The sooner you do, the sooner I can finish you!"

Makira growled at him, plugging a spell card into her disk.

"I activate End of the World, tributing Vanity's Ruler from my hand in order to summon Demise King of Armageddon (2400/2000)!"

The light show from the ritual card started up again and everyone shielded their eyes, as from within another frightening figure emerged. The monster was encased from head to foot in black and silver armour, and like Ruin, carried a menacing looking staff, though Demise's was more like an axe. The Seal of Orichalcos shone from the armour, crowning the powerful creature (2900).

"Blue Eyes is still stronger!" Joey pointed out. Makira snorted.

"Idiot," she muttered. "Clearly you don't know about Demise's effect! Do you know his effect Kaiba?"

The CEO just stood there, his jaw fixed, and his eyes glaring.

"I'll take that as a yes," Makira quipped. "By paying two thousand life points, Demise can destroy every card on the field excluding himself!"

"Whoa boy…that's some effect!" Joey breathed. Mokuba looked horrified.

"Seto's going to lose his Blue Eyes!"

Makira gave a chuckle, before jabbing a finger at her opponent.

"Demise! Obliterate every card on the field!"

The looming figure raised its axe above its head and brought it down onto the field, which erupted into blinding purple flames, blocking everything from sight. Through the blaze, Kaiba's Blue Eyes gave a roar of pain, which shook everyone to their core. As the light cleared, the field was barren.

"You're wide open Kaiba!" Makira taunted through maniacal laughter. "Demise! Attack him directly with Doomsday Strike!"

The axe was raised yet again, and this time, brought directly over Kaiba's head. Against his will he cried out as the attack knocked him flat and left him stunned.

"Big brother!" Mokuba was panicking, beating his fists against the wall of the Seal. "Get up!"

"…Mmm fine…Mokuba…" the elder Kaiba managed to get out, as he pushed himself up. One had to admire Kaiba's resilience at this point as he slowly got back to his feet.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 3500

Makira: 300

"You don't know when to stay down do you?" Makira scowled. "But if you insist on getting back up, I'll be pleased to knock you back down into the dirt where you belong."

"Just move," Kaiba bit out between his teeth. Makira shrugged and plugged a card into her disk.

"I'll set a card facedown, and end my turn."

"Fine," Kaiba said, reaching for his deck. "I play, Monster Reborn to resurrect Kaiser Sea Horse!"

The sea creature appeared, but was immediately swallowed up by another beam of light.

"And now, I'll tribute him to summon my second Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

"Awesome!" Joey cheered. Next to him, Mokuba was punching the air in joy at his brother's swift recovery.

"No one destroys my dragons that easily!" Kaiba shouted. "Now Blue Eyes, attack Demise, King of Armageddon!"

"Guess again!" Makira cried out, pressing the button on her duel disk. "Activate Ring of Nine Lives!"

The facedown card lifted, and nine golden bands of light suddenly circled Demise. The white lightning attack hit, but when the smoke cleared, Makira's monster was still standing.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 3500

Makira: 200

"What the hell was that?!" Joey voiced what they were all thinking.

"Ring of Nine Lives is a continuous trap card," Makira explained. "It only works on monsters with special summoning requirements, like ritual monsters, or level monsters. I pick one monster that falls under that category, and for nine turns it's completely immune to card effects, and destruction in battle. I do however still take battle damage, but that's a small price to pay for nine turns of immortality!"

Kaiba looked thoroughly peeved by this, but merely waved his hand and ended his turn.

"Someone looks cranky!" Makira taunted, drawing her card. "Don't blame you though. I'd be miffed too if I was facing an unbeatable monster!"

"She likes to hear herself talk doesn't she?" Malik hissed to Bakura, who nodded in agreement.

Makira studied her hand, and then cast an apprising look at the ring covered Demise, before waving a hand.

"I pass."

On cue, on of the Rings shattered, leaving only eight behind.

"Fine then," Kaiba said, drawing and waving to Blue Eyes. "White Lightning Attack!"

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 3500

Makira: 100

"Her monster might be unbeatable," Yami said as the attack went through, not harming Demise in the slightest. "But if Kaiba attacks once more, Makira loses."

The Death Eater however, didn't appear worried, as she drew and smirked at her hand.

"I play my second Poison of the Old Man!" she said. "And once again, I'll use it to regain twelve hundred life points!"

The elderly man reappeared and Makira snatched the bottle from his hands, drained it and smashed it against the ground.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 3500

Makira: 1300

"Well Demise looks lonely out there by himself," Makira said. "So I'll bring back an old friend."

She slotted the spell card into her disk and the audience groaned as they realised what it was.

"I play Fulfilment of the Contract, paying eight hundred life points to special summon Ruin, Queen of Oblivion from my graveyard!"

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 3500

Makira: 500

The evil looking fairy appeared next Demise, her glare fixing on Kaiba's Blue Eyes. Clearly she was angling for revenge (2800/2000).

"What was the point of that?" Joey asked. "Ruin has less attack points than Blue Eyes, and Ring of Nine Lives only works on one monster. Blue Eyes can destroy her in Kaiba's next turn."

"Look again Joey," Yami shook his head. "Look where Makira's summoned Ruin."

Joey studied the field and groaned aloud.

"What?" Malik asked, confused.

"She's summoned Ruin in her back row!" Joey sighed. "And Kaiba can't attack her back row until he clears out the front. And thanks to Ring of Nine Lives…"

"He _can't_ clear out her front row because Demise is untouchable for eight more of her turns," Bakura finished, seeing where this was going. "She must be waiting to power Ruin up and take out Blue Eyes. If only we could break the Seal like last time…"

"Yeah well you can't!" Makira jeered. "But since I don't have a way to power Ruin up yet, I'll just set this facedown and call it a turn."

As she did, the eighth ring surrounding Demise exploded, indicating that seven turns were left before Demise could be destroyed.

"Fine," Kaiba said drawing. "My move!"

He took one look at what he had drawn and smirked.

"_Excellent!"_

"I play a ritual of my own – White Dragon Ritual! I tribute Spear Dragon from my hand to summon Paladin of White Dragon (1900/1200)!"

Before Kaiba appeared what looked like a miniature Blue Eyes, with an armour clad rider sitting on its back. The real Blue Eyes gave a low rumbling growl at the sight of the familiar monster.

"But Paladin isn't staying long," Kaiba said. "Because I'm using his effect, tributing him to summon my third Blue Eyes White Dragon from my deck!"

The smaller dragon melted away, replaced by a duplicate of the Blue Eyes on the field. Both of them roared joyfully.

"That was pointless," Makira scoffed. "They can't touch Ruin thanks to where she's currently standing, and they can't destroy Demise thanks to my trap card."

Kaiba frowned. "With two Blue Eyes out, it's only a matter of time before I chip your life points down to zero. Your pathetic defence means nothing!"

"Yes," Makira said slowly. "But just remember, thanks to Paladin's effect, neither of your dragons can attack this turn."

"I know," Kaiba said. "Which is why I'm ending my turn here."

"Fine," Makira said, drawing and studying her hand. "I'll pass again. There's nothing I want to do."

Around Demise, the seventh glowing ring cracked and exploded into slivers of light, leaving six turns left.

"Well that was pointless then wasn't it?" Kaiba said. "Now go my dragons! White Lightning Attack!"

The two incredible monsters charged up their attacks. Makira tore her eyes away from the destructive sight to calmly press a button on her duel disk.

"I play the spell Mystic Wok!"

As the light was blasted towards Demise, a giant pan appeared next to Ruin, who gave a scream as she was pulled in.

"I tribute Ruin, Queen of Oblivion to gain life points equal to her attack points!"

Kaiba frowned slightly, before his eyes opened wide in alarm. He seemed to understand what Makira was attempting to do. Demise meanwhile, was getting back to his feet after the earth shattering blast he had just survived.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 3500

Makira: 3100

"What was the point of that?" Malik asked. "Makira didn't need those life points. She would have still had three hundred points left after that attack…unless…"

"She wants those points to use Demise's effect again," Yami said. "With his Blue Eyes gone Kaiba will be wide open!"

Kaiba studied his hand. Ring of Destruction, Luster Dragon and De-Fusion, and all were useless, since even if he played them, Demise would wipe them out regardless. He lifted his head and glared at Makira.

"My turn is over."

"About time," the Death Eater scoffed. "And its about time I rid the field of those dragons of yours! But since I don't particularly want to lose Ring of Nine Lives to Demise's effect, I'm going to play this first. Giant Trunade!"

She plugged a spell card into her disk, and above their heads, a tornado appeared, blowing Ring of Nine Lives back to Makira's hand.

"And now that that's sorted," she said. "I pay two thousand life points to activate Demise's effect once again!"

Kaiba winced as Makira's monster raised its axe, which glowed with a purple hue, and slammed it against the ground, bathing the field in darkness and causing the two Blue Eyes to cry out in pain as they both vanished.

"You'll regret that," Kaiba muttered.

"Me?" Makira snorted. "I'd be more worried about yourself! Demise, attack Kaiba directly!"

Once again Kaiba found himself flat against the wall of the Seal, as the attack knocked all the wind out of him along with his life points. Mokuba gasped, and was restrained from running into the Seal by Yami and Joey.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 600

Makira: 1100

"I'll end my turn with these two cards facedown," Makira said, smirking.

"_Its over," _Makira thought to herself. "_Along with Ring of Nine Lives, I set Rush Recklessly. Even if by some miracle Kaiba does summon something powerful enough to defeat Demise, my monster will be protected from destruction, and have enough attack points to counter and destroy his monster. Then the next turn I'll wipe out what's left of his points, and set about taking Mokuba's soul too!_"

"Three guesses what one of those is," Bakura growled at the facedown cards. Malik nodded grimly.

"It's not Ring of Nine Lives that's worrying me anymore," he said. "It's what the other one could possibly be. With only six hundred points left, Kaiba doesn't have a lot of options left."

Kaiba scowled, but he could not disagree with this fact. He had nothing on the field, and the three cards in his hand were useless against Demise. He needed a good draw, or he was going to lose his soul, and leave Makira to do whatever she wanted to Mokuba…

As he reached for his deck, the top card began to glow slightly, and Kaiba felt a jolt of recognition, not unlike the one that sometimes accompanied him drawing Blue Eyes. He pulled the card out of his disk and his jaw almost dropped open.

It was the Fang of Critias.

"Hurry up!" Makira snapped. "The sooner I beat you, the sooner I can move onto your brat of a brother!"

"Listen Makira!" Mokuba spat. "My big brother can take as long as he wants deciding his moves! And you're not going to get the chance to duel me, because Seto's going to win!"

Makira snorted. "He doesn't look like a winner to me!"

Kaiba's head snapped up and he narrowed his eyes at Makira. "Really? Well allow me to prove you wrong! I play the Fang of Critias!"

A lightning strike lit up the sky behind Kaiba, and from behind him, appeared Critias in dragon form. His scales were a greyish blue colour, which caused him to blend in very well with the night sky.

"What the hell is that?!" Makira gasped.

"The last monster you'll ever see!" Kaiba replied. "Critias, fuse with Ring of Destruction to create Halo Destruction Dragon!"

"You can't do that!" Makira spluttered as the bystanders cheered.

"Watch me!" Kaiba spat as his new monster appeared. It looked like Critias, only a more purple shade than before, and with what appeared to be glowing Ring's of Destruction around its neck, ankles and above its head (2500/2200).

"I don't know how you did that," Makira said. "But that dragon is still too weak to attack Demise!"

Kaiba just continued smirking. "Who said I need to attack? I activate my dragon's effect, which destroys all cards on the field!"

"WHAT?!" Makira spluttered, as her facedown Rush Recklessly, Ring of Nine Lives, and Demise were all suddenly clamped in purple rings. On the other side of the field, Kaiba's dragon was in a similar state.

"Oh and there's something I forgot to mention," Kaiba said. "We each take five hundred points of damage for each card destroyed!"

Makira drew back in fear. "But that means I lose…"

"…Fifteen hundred life points, which you don't have," Kaiba finished. "Now go my dragon! Wipe everything off the field, along with the rest of her life points!"

The dragon roared, and all the rings suddenly began to glow, before exploding into a blinding display of light. Kaiba took five hundred points of damage from losing his dragon, but Makira took fifteen hundred from her monster and her two facedown cards.

**Life Points**

Kaiba: 100

Makira: 0

When the smoke cleared, the Seal was sinking in around a stupefied Makira. Kaiba was drawing deep breaths, but had a satisfied look on his face.

"Seto!" Mokuba charged toward his brother, throwing his arms around him. Kaiba, ignoring the audience, hugged him back.

"I'm so glad you won!"

Kaiba let out a soft snort. "As if there was any doubt Mokuba."

"I'm glad you're alright too Kaiba," Yami put in. "All of us are."

Kaiba did not acknowledge the concern, but he gave Yami a short nod, before pressing the button in the collar of his jacket.

"Roland, contact Terada immediately, and have him send a few of his men over to the mansion. Tell him there was an incident that requires his attention."

"Who's Terada?" Yami asked.

"Robert Terada is the guy from the Japanese Ministry who's been working at Kaiba Corp," Joey explained, before turning to have a look at the defeated soulless shell that had until recently been Makira. "I guess we can't leave her here for the gardeners to find."

"Who said we hired gardeners?" Mokuba asked indignantly. Joey snorted.

"You can't honestly expect me to believe that Rich Boy takes care of this place?"

Kaiba, who had just finished making the call in time to hear that particular remark, gave Joey a scathing look. "And I suppose the mutt would be an expert on digging holes and pulling up plants?"

Joey went red with rage and was immediately restrained by Bakura and Yami. Malik and Mokuba just stood there and laughed.

"Oh no!" Mokuba gasped. "I left my guests unattended!"

And he shot back into the house without another word.

"We'll go keep all the kids busy until the Ministry get here," Malik offered. "C'mon Bakura. Let's go have a duel indoors. That should get their attention…"

Bakura smirked and followed his friend inside, leaving the three chosen duellists alone in the gardens, with only the comatose form of Makira present.

"Are you alright Kaiba?" Yami asked. Kaiba scoffed.

"Save your worry Yugi. I'm just fine."

"Fine, we won't bother next time," Joey remarked, folding his arms. "Forgive us for showing concern."

"I didn't ask for your concern Wheeler," Kaiba replied. "I can wait for Terada's people to get here on my own you know."

The two fell into their regular style of bickering. Yami meanwhile was relinquishing control back to Yugi. The boy pulled out his deck and flicked through it, pulling out his own legendary dragon.

/_I'm glad you're back Timaeus_/ Yugi thought. /_From what we just saw, we're going to need all the help we can get…_/

OOO

"My Lord."

The Dark Lord sighed and turned to face the man kneeling on the floor. Outside the building, a gust of wind whistled, casting a draught in the room, but the black robed figure with scarlet eyes did not seem to notice or care. He was wound up and ultimately in a very foul mood. He had been observing the duel through the magic of the Orichalcos. Not only had Makira failed but it seemed that the Legendary Dragons had finally resurfaced again. He had been banking on a little more time before the Dominion of the Beasts made their move.

Though Voldemort was not necessarily one to look on the bright side, he had to admit that this duel had a far better result than the last one. Makira might have failed, but he had at least retrieved her soul from this duel unlike the disaster that had been Ivan and his ridiculous machines. Nevertheless, the return of the Dragons was something he had not prepared for, and steps would have to be taken.

"Rise Evert. What have you come to say?"

The Death Eater raised his head to look at his Master. Voldemort watched as a spark of fear entered the Death Eater's eyes. He liked that when he looked at his servants. It meant he was still in control of them.

"My Lord I have discovered more about the Items."

"I'm listening," the Dark Lord said, his interest now peaked.

"You asked me to locate the remaining Millennium Items," the Death Eater said. "I am afraid however, that aside from the Puzzle, the Ring and the Rod, the other four are unknown. The only two I made any discoveries about were the Necklace and the Eye. Until recently Ishizu Ishtar owned the Necklace. However she parted with it a year ago and no one knows where it is now. Maximillion Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters, owned the Eye. However his has also vanished."

Voldemort's eyes narrowed in irritation. He was mildly miffed that the search for these elusive treasures had turned up poor results, but it was not as if he needed the Items. He had a far more useful and powerful magic at his disposal. It would merely be helpful to know who these bearers were, just in case they decided to become a nuisance to him. Knowing your enemy was always good.

"I see…and this information comes from…?"

"From my contact in Egypt my Lord," Evert explained. "An ex Tomb Keeper, who managed the guarding of many of the sacred texts detailing the Items."

"And does he have access to these texts now?" Voldemort asked.

"No my Lord," the Death Eater shook his head. "Unfortunately all the texts are now in the possession of the Ishtar family. Ishizu Ishtar, the previous bearer of the Millennium Necklace, and her brother Odion Ishtar, guard them now. But my contacts memory is not faulty my lord I can assure you."

Voldemort stood, and paced toward the fire, apparently deep in thought. Curled up in front of the chair upon which he had been sitting, Nagini hissed at her master's restlessness.

"Ishtar. Any relation to the transfer at Hogwarts?" Voldemort eventually asked.

"His elder siblings I believe."

Voldemort looked musing for a second, before saying. "Keep an eye on them. They may prove useful to us."

That was another cause for irritation, the Dark Lord thought as he gazed at the fire. Ryou Bakura was by no means broken from having his father sealed away it seemed. His very insides burned at the idea of that mere boy _mocking_ him. He had to break these Item bearers, one by one, so that they could not even hope to challenge him. If he couldn't break the Bakura boy then he would have to try Ishtar instead. He knew of the boy's history now, thanks to the visions generated by the Seal. If the man and the woman were, as the visions suggested, his only family, then losing them should be excruciatingly painful for the boy.

"Of course Master," Evert said, bowing his head. He gulped before beginning nervously. "There is something else though my Lord. Something I discovered about the Puzzle and the Ring that I think you should hear…"

"Yes, what is it?" the Dark Lord said impatiently, sweeping dramatically back into his seat.

"My contact," the Death Eater began. "Told me a little of the secrets of the Items. Very little is known about them even among the Tomb Keepers, but the Puzzle and the Ring are supposed to contain souls."

As if she had understood what had just been said, Nagini hissed menacingly. Voldemort leaned forwards in anticipation.

"Who's souls?"

* * *

OOO

**Card Specs**

_Name: _Halo Destruction Dragon

_Card Type: _Fusion Monster

_Image: _A purple dragon with a Ring of Destruction halo, neck band, wrist and ankle bands.

_Card Stats: _2500/2200. Level 8. Light Attribute.

_Card Text:_ Ring of Destruction The Fang of Critias. This card cannot be special summoned except by sending the above Fusion Material cards to the Graveyard (you do not use Polymerization). Destroy every card on the field including this one. Both players lose 500 life points for each card on their side of the field.

OOO

_Name: _Ring of Nine Lives

_Card Type: _Continuous Trap

_Image: _Nine golden rings surrounding Reshef the Dark Being

_Card Text: _Select one monster on your side of the field that cannot be Normal Summoned or Flip Summoned, but has special summoning requirements. As long as this card remains face up on the field, the selected monster cannot be destroyed in battle or by the effect of any monster, spell or trap effects. This card is destroyed after nine of your End Phases have passed. Battle Damage is applied normally.

_This card was created by MyAibou for use in both the 'Revival' and 'Identity' Series. All creative credit goes to her.

* * *

_

OOO

**A/N: **…anyone got an economy sized bottle of Anadin they're not using? I'll love you forever.

I hope I did Kaiba justice. It's really hard to write someone when up until recently you really disliked him (not that I particularly like him now, I just understand him better – and I have new people to hate in this fandom…like Shadi, or Malik's father…).

Once again, I owe massive thanks to DuelistBlake1852 for checking over the duel. You dude, are the best.

And since I haven't thanked her for a chapter or two, I'm thanking Isis the Sphinx once again, for being an amazing beta.

Oh and to answer _Peter Kim_, since I can't reply to anonymous reviews, I won't be bringing GX characters into this story. I never connected with the GX cast like I have the original YuGiOh cast. Plus I don't have any particular need to include them in this story. Sorry.

In other writing news – I put another oneshot up a few weeks ago. It's my take on Bakura's life as a child. Go read if you want to.

Please review. It does wonders for my self esteem…


	16. Chapter 16: New Year New Champion

**Disclaimer:** I am a poor University student. I don't own a damn thing! Oh wait! I own Akila and Koji! No stealing them without my permission!

**Dedication: **My betas –Isis the Sphinx and DuelistBlake1852 – this is for you guys! You are both awesome!

* * *

**Chapter 16: New Year, New Champion**

"Happy New Year!" Yugi said sweetly, as the sun peeked its way over the top of the hill on New Years Day. Domino Park, particularly this hill, was filled with families, all exclaiming the same New Year sentiment to one another, banishing the darkness of the previous year and welcoming in the light of the new one.

"Happy New Year Yugi," Solomon returned, hugging his grandson.

"Yeah Happy New Year guys," Joey beamed, watching the suns rays cast golden trails across the hill, lighting up the faces of the people watching it.

/_Happy New Year Other me_/ Yugi thought.

//_Happy New Year Aibou_// Yami replied. He remembered the previous New Year when Yugi and his Grandfather had done exactly the same thing. They had travelled to Domino Park to watch the first sunrise of the New Year, as was custom. Back then; Yugi had had only Tea, Joey and Tristan as his friends. So many people had joined their circle this year. A little way away from them were the Ishtars, who had joined in this year with a still sombre, looking Ryou. Tea, Tristan and their families were also standing nearby, exchanging New Year greetings with fond looks. Kaiba and Mokuba were also present; Mokuba beaming as the sun came up, and Kaiba managing to look mildly relaxed as the first rays of light bathed their surroundings.

"Happy New Year Grandpa," Yami said, taking control and smiling at their companions. "You too Joey."

"Let's hope this year things get better hey Pharaoh?" Joey said. Yami nodded in agreement, before turning his head to look at the rising sun. Though not Japanese, he rather liked this custom. Light was something he had missed while trapped in the Puzzle, which made every sunrise that much more special.

"Hey guys," Tristan said, approaching with a smile. "Happy New Year."

The greeting was returned as Solomon left to talk to Tristan's parents. It was not long before Tea, Malik and Ryou joined them, everyone sitting back on the grass and watching the sun continue its way into the sky.

"Weird seeing the Kaiba's out here," Tristan said.

"Weird seeing Kaiba look so chilled," Joey corrected. "Normally he's all detached and stuff."

"How's your first Japanese New Year Malik?" Yugi asked. The Egyptian beamed.

"Beats the Tombs by a long shot," he said. "And there is something gratifying about seeing the first sunrise of the year when you've been living underground most of your life."

"Guess," Yugi said, beaming. "First New Year. First sunrise…"

"First mochi of the year?" Malik said, waving a box before everyone. "Ryou made them before we came here."

"You're a saint Ryou," Joey said, swooping on the box immediately. Ryou smiled, but there was no real feeling in it.

"His stomach has been growling since we got here," Yugi giggled, taking one of the rice cakes. Joey scowled at him.

"First duel Yugi? I gotta practise before the finals next week."

"Maybe later," Yugi promised, munching on the sticky sweet mochi, taking great care not to choke. Yami appeared next to him in spirit form, one leg drawn up to his chin, and the other stretched out in front of him as he watched the sun with a faraway look on his face. Bakura appeared, also looking out at the sky.

"They're different wherever you go," he said to the other spirit. Yami nodded. Bakura's presence had not taken him by surprise, but his comment had slightly. Nevertheless the thief had a point.

"They were always so comforting in Egypt," Bakura continued. "They're like that here. Only a little more…clear, in a way. They're still warm, and comforting…but not in a protective overbearing way. They feel more free."

"Sunrises at Hogwarts are always cold," Yami said. "Crisp and cold. Must be the misery that everyone feels."

"Or maybe just the misery that we feel," Bakura pointed out. Behind them, Yugi and Ryou exchanged looks.

"Are they having a civil conversation?" Yugi asked.

"This is a first," Ryou pointed out. Everyone else looked confused.

"What was that?" Tea asked. Both boys turned to everyone else.

"Yami and Bakura are being civil to each other. They're talking about sunrises, of all things…" Yugi said. At his words, the yami's turned to look at them.

"Its too nice out to fight today," the Pharaoh said. Bakura just shrugged and went back to watching the sky. Ryou turned to Yugi.

"It's the apocalypse," he said, smiling properly for the first time in a while.

"You're telling me," Yugi said. "Though it is nice to see them talking with no homicidal tendencies."

Ryou nodded, before helping himself to another mochi. Next to him, Tristan was nudging Joey. The brunette nodded to a space about twenty paces down the hill. Joey's gaze followed and he scowled slightly.

"He came after all," Tristan muttered, so low that only Ryou, Joey and Yugi heard it. Tea and Malik had started their own conversation, leaving everyone else's attention to turn to the man who Tristan had just spotted.

"You gonna go talk to him?" Yugi asked. Joey snorted.

"Give me a good reason why I should Yugi," he said. "He was ready to go celebrate the New Year with his mates and not give a shit about spending it with his kid."

"He's here now," Yugi pointed out. Joey just chewed on the last of his rice cake moodily.

"He's your father Joey," Ryou said in a low voice. Joey glared at him but he ploughed on regardless. "He might not be around, but he'll always be your father."

Joey sighed, seeing what Ryou was getting at. "Ryou…it's not the same y'know..."

"Yes it is," Ryou cut him off. "Even if…" he broke off before steeling himself to say the next sentence. "Even if Voldemort hadn't got my father, he still wouldn't have been here. He doesn't like being around me."

"Ryou that's not true," Yugi said fiercely.

"Yes it is Yugi," Ryou corrected. "And I can't fool myself any more. He doesn't like being around me because I frighten him and I remind him too much of my mother. But I don't care if he's in Egypt or in another world. He's still my father. All I can do is hope that one day he'll see what he's been missing out on."

He turned his head to look at Joey's father.

"Even if he doesn't realise it now Joey," he said. "He'll realise one day what he's missed. For now, just enjoy the moments when he is around."

He swallowed the last of his rice cake, before getting to his feet and leaving the group. In spirit form, Bakura followed.

"Where's he going?" Malik asked.

"I think he needs to be alone for a bit," Yugi said. Joey meanwhile, broke the staring contest he had been having with the ground, and got to his feet and marched off in the other direction.

"Where's Joey going?" Tea asked, before catching sight of the elder Wheeler. "Oh. I see."

Malik continued to watch Ryou and Bakura disappear down the hill. Tristan kept his eyes focused on Joey's progress, while Tea rummaged around in her bag and handed around a pack of wet wipes for everyone to clean the mochi paste off their fingers. Yugi got up slowly and shifted a little away from everyone else, before digging under his jacket and finding his deck box. He picked three cards out of the back before studying them.

He had not intended to bring the God Cards with him. But after the attack at the Kaiba manor the previous week, it seemed stupid to leave them at home completely unprotected. He was still weary about using their power. He never used them in duels, partially because he was worried about the damage they could do, but also because they were banned from tournament use anyway. The only duellist he and Yami ever used them against was Kaiba, and that was because the CEO would pitch a fit if he thought Yugi was fighting him with anything less than his all.

How many people would suffer at Voldemort's hands before this came to an end? Yugi looked behind him at what was left of the group. Would it be the Ishtars next? Or Tristan and Tea? Would Joey and Serenity be next to fall? Or would it be the Kaiba's who suffered? And then there were people who were not here right now, who were still in danger. People like Mai, Rebecca and Duke, who knew about this, but had not been targeted…yet. Would they be next to lose their souls.

Yugi looked over the hill at the sun. The New Year was a time for change, the bringing of light into the next year.

Maybe it was time for the light to fight back.

Yami came and sat down beside him.

"Silver for your thoughts Aibou?" he asked. Yugi smiled and replaced the cards in his deck.

"Nothing Yami," he said shaking his head. "But I think we should look over our deck when we get home."

And without saying anything else, Yami knew what Yugi had just decided.

On the other end of the hill, Bakura stood behind a scowling Ryou. The hikari had not said a word, nor uttered a single sound since he had abruptly left the group. And Bakura knew he didn't need to say anything either. His presence was enough for Ryou at this moment.

Looking over again at the sunrise, Bakura felt familiar words creep through his memory…

FLASHBACK

"_Look big brother! Ra looks so pretty this morning!"_

"_You say that every morning Akila. Ra looks the same each and every day. He doesn't change – which we can be thankful for."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because it means we can always count on Ra to be there, no matter what happens…"_

END FLASHBACK

Bakura had to smirk. Rather impressive wisdom coming from a kid. And they were exactly what he needed right now – for Ryou to know that he would be there for him.

He had fucked up enough in his life, and he would not do it again.

Back with Tea and Tristan, Malik turned his head to look over his shoulder at the two figures, one solid and one not, before swinging it the other way to look at a similar pair on the other side of the hill.

It seemed just as destiny was back on track for Yami and Bakura, people like Dartz and Voldemort came along and messed everything up for them. And each time it happened things got more and more difficult for them. Last time, the Orichalcos had separated Yugi and Yami. Would they lose each other again this time? Or would Ryou and Bakura be the ones to be split up? Or…would it be his own soul ripped from his body?

He shivered. He had just got this body back. He did not want to leave it again, any time soon. He looked over at where Ishizu was talking to Solomon, with Odion shadowing her. He had too much to lose this time around. They all did.

"Happy New Year everyone," Malik said quietly, wondering just how much light the New Year would bring.

OOO

Domino City Stadium was a huge building in the centre of the city. Usually host to events such as football matches and rock concerts, on this particular day it was filled to the brim with Duel Monster fans, who had gathered to see the final round of the Japanese Regional Championships.

Currently though, most of the action was taking place outside the competitors meeting are…

"Look! Isn't that Yugi Mutou?"

"The King of Games!"

"And that's Joey Wheeler! He's one of the finalists duelling today!"

"Oh my God, it's Ryou Bakura and Malik Ishtar! They're both sooooo cute!"

The group of friends exchanged horrified looks at the storm of fans littering the corridor. As if on cue, Tristan and Tea moved to shield the duellists from harm as they progressed through the screaming crowds, Tristan single handedly muscling the fans out the way, and Tea glaring at any girl who came within five metres of them. The duellists themselves, bunched together as if fearing for their lives.

"They're insane!" Ryou gasped, as they all squeezed into the room that was being used for the competing duellists to rest in when they were not duelling. Above their heads was the stadium itself, and they could already hear the low rumble of footsteps and voices as it began to fill. Joey wiped the sweat from his forehead and plonked himself down in a chair. Nearby, the other duellists and their friends and families gathered there gave him a nod of acknowledgment.

So far only two competitors were present. Sami Eyre, a petite, spunky brunette who had beaten her way through the quarterfinals the previous day with a determination that not many could match. Next to her was Koji Oku, the youngest competitor on the circuit that year, at only eight years old, who had beaten Mokuba Kaiba in the quarterfinals the previous day. His black hair hung messily around his ears and he grinned widely at Joey, who gave him a peace sign in return.

Joey's quarterfinal match the previous day had been against Espa Roba, the boy who had been his first victory in Battle City. As the last time they met Espa had been cheating, using his little brothers to spy on the other players hands, the aqua haired teen had been thrilled for the chance to face Joey again, this time on fair terms. It had been a close match, and for a while it had looked as though Espa would win, having bought in a few new combos. However Joey, who always did his best when he was losing badly, managed to turn things around at the last minute, but both duellists agreed that it had been a great match, and had parted on good terms.

Everyone jumped as the door was thrown open again and Mako Tsunami stumbled in, looking extremely dishevelled. Another surprise for Joey, Mako had once again fought his way up to the top four of the Regionals, and it was he Joey would face in today's Semi Final playoff. Right now however, he seemed to be struggling to catch his breath.

"Are you alright Mako?" Joey asked, alarmed at his opponents appearance.

"Not really," the ocean duellist admitted. "One of those fangirls tried to rip my shirt off!"

A couple of people dissolved into laughter, but most of them shuddered in horror at the idea of that fate ever befalling them.

"Fangirls are evil!" Ryou said in a weak voice.

"I agree," Koji said. "This is my first professional tourney and I can't believe you guys can deal with all those nutters as much as you do. All those girls keep swamping me and squealing that I'm cute!"

"You're lucky you're only eight!" Joey said. "Yugi's had marriage proposals from some of those fans before!"

"Joey!" Yugi wailed in embarrassment as some people in the room laughed at his misfortune. "You promised you would never bring that up again!"

Joey grinned at his friend's blushing face, but it didn't last long, for Tea smacked him around the head, electing more laughter.

"Sorry Yug. I was only teasing," Joey assured him, taking out his deck and flicking through it. He was feeling pretty confident. He had a very good feeling about the tournament. So far nothing had gone wrong magically wise and the duels had all been good clean fun. Serenity had been unable to make it, as she could not stay overnight in Domino with Joey and their father, but she had telephoned that morning and promised Joey that she would be watching and cheering for him. Further encouragement for Joey had arrived not half an hour later in the form of another phone call, this time from Mai. She had wished him luck and had assured him that she would be watching him too. Boosted by the messages, Joey had had a grin on his face all day so far.

The door opened again and everyone jumped once more, Mako clutching his shirt fearfully. But it was just one of the tournament officials, who had come to brief everyone before the first match. He did not bat an eyelid at the appearance of so many people. He had got used to Yugi, Ryou and Malik's presences, along with Kaiba, who had been supporting his brother when he had still been in the tournament. Trailing behind him was Pegasus, looking every bit as eccentric as he normally did. As the creator of Duel Monsters and chairman of one of the companies that sponsored the Regionals, he was one of the guests of honour. The other guest of honour of course was Kaiba.

"Afternoon everyone!" the official greeted, before looking pointedly at everyone who was not a participating duellist. "Would friends and family like to start making their way to the stadium? We have to get started soon."

That was their cue to leave. The first round would be soon and everyone needed time to get to the stands. Everyone who was not duelling began to get up and head for the door. Yugi and the rest of the gang wished Joey luck before leaving through the, now mercifully deserted, corridor and up to the stadium. Seto Kaiba, who pointedly ignored everyone else and focused on Yugi, intercepted them at the door.

"Yugi I want to have a word with you."

"Now?" Yugi frowned. "The first round starts soon. I promised Joey I'd be there."

Kaiba frowned. "I'm sure even a pathetic duellist like Wheeler can survive five minutes without his head cheerleader. This is important."

Rolling his eyes at the slur on Joey's skills, but knowing it was pointless to argue with Kaiba, Yugi followed further down the corridor, shooting an apologetic look to the rest of his friends. Tristan growled at Kaiba, and Tea, seeing that their friend was about to start yelling, ushered everyone up the stairs. Malik and Ryou looked worried, but followed, hoping that nothing was going to go wrong now when the tournament was almost over.

As Joey's friends, and as three of them were the current top five duellists in the world, everyone had front row seats, along with all the previous competitors who had already been eliminated from the competition. The crowd was already lively, eagerly awaiting the end results of what had been a fierce and extremely close competition. Already the television cameras were sweeping the stadium, and on the big screen above, ran the names of the tournament sponsors, including Industrial Illusions and Kaiba Corp. Punctuating these advertisements were highlights from the previous duels in the tournament, which had certain fans cheering in joy as their heros flashed up on screen.

"'scuse me! Move up! Thanks! Can I come through?"

"Mokuba!" Tea exclaimed, as the familiar mop of raven black hair plonked itself in the seat next to her. "What on earth are you doing here?"

Mokuba beamed. "Big brother's talking to Yugi, and I didn't want to miss the first round, so I told Seto I'd go ahead."

He was beaming from ear to ear at the sight of the upcoming match. Evidently losing the previous day had not dampened his spirits at all. Mokuba was pleased with how well he had done though. He would never be as serious about Duel Monsters as Seto was. Capsule Monsters always had been and always would be his best and favourite game. Never the less, the Regionals had been fun, and it had been nice to prove some of his opponents wrong when they assumed that he could never hope to match up to his older brother.

The volume in the stadium dropped as two dull thuds indicated the sound of fingers tapping against a microphone.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Semi Final rounds of the Japanese Regional Championships!"

Along with the rest of the unsuspecting crowd, Tea, Mokuba and everyone else cheered loudly in anticipation.

OOO

Seto Kaiba was not a man who enjoyed feeling uncomfortable. Uncomfortable implied being in a situation in which he had little or no control over. He was a man who liked to be in control, of his life, of his destiny, and of his world. Yugi Mutou was a person who threatened that control. Kaiba could not deny that since meeting Yugi, his life had suddenly got weirder and weirder. Even if he tried to shut out all the strange occurrences or put them down to a bad dream or a cheap trick, it still refused to leave him alone.

Ever since Battle City, when he had started having all those visions of Egypt; of the duel monster tablets, of the priest that looked like him, of the girl, and of the Blue Eyes White Dragon, he could not help but see them too. The other Yugi and the other Bakura, popping up clear as day next to their counterparts in a less than solid, almost ghostlike form. He had seen them, and even heard them speak to each other on more than one occasion. He knew of other occasions where he had seen them both, including Battle City in the Shadow Game where the Pharaoh had faced off against Marik, with Malik and Yugi chained up next to them, vanishing as the players lost life points.

But of course, he was Seto Kaiba. And Seto Kaiba did not believe in magic. It did not matter that he had seen duel monsters come to life and people (including his own brother) lose their souls. It did not matter that he had noticed moments when Yugi and Ryou were not themselves, and that they seemed to have shadowy spirits who followed them around. It did not matter how many Shadow Games he sat through. He simply did not believe it. Oh Seto would _see_ it, and he would _hear_ it. But that did not mean that he had to acknowledge it, or embrace it, or like it.

He was happy with his world, and he was happy being in control of his life, with nothing outside his understanding that threatened to break that control apart.

Yet as much as he did not want it, he always seemed to find himself working with Yugi and his little cheerleading squad. Each time the problem was the same. There was another psychopathic maniac wanting to destroy or rule the world. And this time was certainly no exception. So as much as he would have liked to leave it to Yugi and the geeks, he knew he was a part of this, one way or another.

Besides, whoever this Voldemort guy was, he had sent his minions after them and they had hurt Mokuba. Not only had he been attacked on more than one occasion during that first battle in the park, but Mokuba had spent a good few days after Christmas feeling responsible for Makira's fate. He had believed that if he had not beaten Makira in the Regionals she would not have joined the Death Eaters in a quest for power. It had taken a long talk with Seto to bring Mokuba out of it, and for him to realise that Makira had chosen her own path. Mokuba might have been feeling better now, but Seto was not. Mokuba's happiness was everything to him, and Voldemort and his Death Eaters had made his brother unhappy. And _no one_ upset Seto Kaiba's little brother. _No one_.

Yugi followed Kaiba until they were a good distance away from the staircase. Yami appeared next to Yugi, his arms folded and his eyes narrowed. Kaiba turned to face his rival, his eyes flicking briefly over the spirit next to him before they trailed off down the corridor to make sure that they were not being overheard.

"Kaiba could we please make this quick," Yugi said, fidgeting in agitation. "I really want to get back to Joey."

"This won't take long," Kaiba assured him, apparently satisfied that the corridor was empty. He fixed his icy blue eyes on Yugi's amethyst ones, though this was mostly so he was not tempted to glance at the Other Yugi again. Deciding the sooner this encounter was over with the better, he continued.

"Mokuba is sure that he saw Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor wandering around outside the building when we pulled up in the limo earlier."

Yugi's eyes opened wide in alarm. Kaiba had been attempting to trace the missing current and former Regional Champions ever since September. As two duellists who had previously used the Seal of Orichalcos, they would be top of Voldemorts list of people to recruit. That they should suddenly reappear after months of disappearance, particularly on the last day of the tournament, when Joey would be duelling, did not bode good wishes.

"You think they're up to something?" Yugi asked.

"Of course," Kaiba snorted. "Since when are those two ever not up to something? It's too much of a coincidence that they should suddenly disappear right about the time that this Voldemort guy started recruiting, and then show up right when you're all on holiday."

"Particularly at an event where all the Legendary Dragons are present," Yugi said. "Voldemort must know about them after your duel with Makira last week."

Kaiba's scowl seemed to deepen at the mention of the event at the Christmas party. He folded his arms and gave his shorter rival a frank look.

"For whatever reason," he said. "If you see either of those two wandering around, I think it might be worth pulling them aside to see what they know. Make sure you let me know if you do."

Yugi was about to promise him, when a flowery voice greeted their ears.

"Ah Yugi-boy! Kaiba-boy! Just the duellists I needed to see!"

Both World Champions groaned aloud as the tall form of Maximillion Pegasus drifted towards them. As flamboyant as Kaiba was cold, Pegasus projected the air of a rather eccentric artist…or a creepy grandfather of some kind. His long silver hair made him look far older than his twenty five years, covering the empty eye socket that had once held the Millennium Eye. Yet for all his outward harmlessness, Yugi, Yami and Kaiba all knew that Pegasus was a cunning individual, who often had his own agenda.

"You two look like conspirators," the chairman of Industrial Illusions said. "Is there something I should know about? I was hoping to get through one tournament without some little mishap."

Kaiba looked as though he would like nothing more than to remind Pegasus that the mishaps at Duellist Kingdom had been his entire fault in the first place. But Yugi jumped in quickly. An extra pair of eyes (or one eye in this case) never hurt, and Pegasus did used to own the Millennium Eye, and had experienced the power of the Orichalcos before. The odds were he would be able to help them.

"Pegasus, Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood have been spotted hanging around the stadium today."

The Duel Monster's creator raised an eyebrow. "Why now after all this time would they suddenly show up? The Regionals end today, it's too late for them to try and take their titles back."

Kaiba snorted. "Don't be a fool Pegasus. It seems a bit too much of a coincidence that those two minor league duellists would suddenly appear again after several months of absence. Especially now that the Legendary Dragons are back."

Next to him, Yami was nodding, remembering the delayed decision to inform Pegasus when they had returned to Domino. It was only after Ryou's father had been sealed that Yugi had decided to bite the bullet and call the former bearer of the Millennium Eye. Though it was clear no one in the world was safe, anyone connected to the bearers or who had previous encounters with the Orichalcos was in danger. And that included Pegasus on both counts. As much as they did not trust him, Yugi did not want to see Pegasus lose his soul again. No one deserved that.

"Oh so the Dragons have returned!" Pegasus said gleefully, clapping his hands together. "Excellent. I was wondering when that would happen…"

"Yes, but that's beside the point," Yami said, taking over and impatiently waving aside Pegasus's joy. While Yugi may feel a bit more comfortable in his presence, the Pharaoh still did not trust the creator that much, regardless of his help in the last Orichalcos crisis. "What we need is for you to keep an eye open. But be discreet. We don't want word about the Orichalcos getting out and panic arising."

Pegasus's smile faded slightly and he nodded. For all his quirkiness, he seemed to recognise that the situation was a serious one. "I shall be on the alert, and should either of them appear, and I shall inform you immediately. After all these people are abusing my game…oh if only I'd known what dangers I would be releasing when I created it…"

He trailed off, apparently lost in the horror that his ingenious creation had bought about. Kaiba was wearing an unimpressed scowl, and Yami arched an eyebrow.

"Pegasus, spare us the dramatics," Kaiba said irritably. "Just make sure you keep watch. If those two losers think they can sabotage this tournament on behalf of some psycho then they're sorely mistaken."

"What is this Kaiba-boy?" Pegasus said, the teasing back in his voice. "You mean you've suddenly discovered your conscience?"

Yami snorted in disbelief. He was quite sure Kaiba would praise Joey before developing the ability to care about anyone who wasn't Mokuba. The CEO's sapphire eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I couldn't care less about the tournament. No one competing here is worth my time. But whoever hired those two idiots is the same guy who attacked us over the summer. You should know better than most that no one harms Mokuba and expects to get away with it."

"Enough both of you!" Yami interrupted. "Whatever our reasons are, we need to be weary. Pegasus, just keep an eye out for both of them. You used to own the Millennium Eye, and we think those with connections to the Items can sense the Orichalcos, especially if they've been Sealed before."

The thought of being Sealed was enough to sober Pegasus again, and he nodded. Kaiba just muttered "Whatever" before turning and leaving the corridor, his long white coat swishing out behind him dramatically, reminding Yami of Snape as he swept out the room. The Pharaoh marched out after him.

//_So Weevil and Rex have returned_// he summarised. //_This can't be good_//

/_You're right_/ Yugi said grimly. /_We should go tell the others. If they…_/

Yami stopped suddenly as he and Yugi felt a dull sensation started at the edge of their senses. Yami frowned recognising it instantly, before his face turned to that of despair.

"Not again. Not now!"

He bolted down the corridor after his rival.

OOO

"Ryou…" Malik whispered, suddenly feeling on edge. "Can you feel that?"

The white haired duellist took his eyes off where Mako was drawing his card and looked curiously at his friend.

"Feel what?" he asked. Malik closed his eyes and thought hard.

"There's something…dark near here…"

Ryou mimicked him and frowned in thought.

//_Ishtar's right_// Bakura said. //_I can feel something too. And it feels like trouble_//

As he spoke, the pointers of the Millennium Ring began tugging furiously under Ryou's jacket. He hastily squashed the offending Item against his chest.

"Let's go," he whispered, and he and Malik got to their feet.

"Hey, where are you two going?" Tristan asked. "We should all be here cheering Joey on."

"Something's going on out there," Ryou said, his voice turning hard and more brutal as Bakura took over. "We're going to check it out."

"Yugi's still out there with Kaiba," Tea said in alarm. "We should come too."

"No," Malik said instantly. "You guys stay here. Joey needs you. We'll deal with this."

"Are you saying Yugi and Big Brother might be in danger?" Mokuba asked, his eyes going wide and horrified. Bakura placed a hand firmly over the pre-teens mouth.

"Not so loud kid!" he snapped. "We'll be back soon. Just stay here so it doesn't look too suspicious."

And without another word, he took off after Malik.

OOO

Joey cringed as Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800/1600) was speared by Mako's Legendary Fisherman (1850/1600).

"And now Great White (1800/1000), attack him directly!"

The armed shark leaped from the waves of Mako's Legendary Ocean and ploughed straight into Joey. The blonde managed to stay on his platform, but still winced from the attack, as the monster dropped back into the sea below.

Life Points

Joey: 3250

Mako: 4900

"That concludes my turn Joey," the Ocean duellist said, a pleased grin on his face. As Joey pulled a card from his deck, he felt a flicker of anger, fear and darkness at the back of his mind. His eyes opened wide.

"_Oh as if I needed more problems!" _he thought bitterly, recognising the pulse of magic that could only belong to the Orichalcos. "_I need to finish this duel quickly."_

Almost as soon as he thought it, his friends in the front row, not far from his platform, caught his attention. To anyone watching, it seemed like he might be listening to Tea and Tristan's shouts of encouragement. But what Joey was really looking at was Ryou and Malik, who were slipping down the row with agitated looks on their faces.

"_They must have felt it too_," he reassured himself, going back to the cards in his hand. "_I hope they're okay…"_

"What's the hold up Joey?" Mako asked. "You're not quitting now are you?"

At this, Joey's winning smile returned. "Mako you should know me by now. Joey Wheeler doesn't quit! It's my move!"

He plugged a spell card into his duel disk, and the familiar laughing jar appeared.

"First I'll play Pot of Greed!" Joey announced, drawing two more cards from his deck as the jar shattered.

"_Jackpot!"_ Joey thought.

"First I play Monster Reborn, to bring back Gearfried the Iron Knight!"

Beneath the churning waves a form emerged and Joey's Iron Knight reappeared, submerged up to his chest in water from the Legendary Ocean.

"Next, I play the Spell card, Release Restraint! Now I can tribute Gearfried the Iron Knight to special summon Gearfried the Swordmaster (2600/2200)!"

A glow surrounded Gearfried before light exploded into the arena. When it cleared, the armour was gone, revealing a tanned muscular warrior with long grey hair.

"Impressive Joey," Mako nodded. "But even though your warrior can destroy my Great White, as long as my Legendary Ocean is on the field you cannot select my Legendary Fisherman as an attack target!"

"Who says I need to attack him?" Joey asked, holding up another spell card. "Remember this card Mako? I equip Gearfried with Lightning Blade!"

It was clear from the look on Mako's face that he did recognise the card that had taken him down in his last duel against Joey. A sword, crackling with electricity, appeared in Gearfried's hand, and he raised it above his head as his attack points rose (3400/2200).

"What was the point of that?" Mako asked. Joey smirked.

"Gearfried's effect, that's what," he said. "Whenever I equip Gearfried with a spell card, he can destroy one monster on my opponent's side of the field!"

At this, Mako looked utterly horrified.

"Gearfried! Use your effect to wipe out his Legendary Fisherman!"

The warrior gave a battle cry, before leaping into the air and plunging his sword down into a seemingly deserted area of water. The fisherman, and his shark appeared briefly, both groaning in pain, before they vanished in a shower of pixels.

"And I'm not done yet!" Joey assured his opponent. "Gearfried, attack his Great White!"

The shark's attack points dropped dramatically from the effect of Lightning Blade (1300/1000) as Gearfried's sword once again struck home. The second monster exploded, leaving the holographic ocean in its wake.

Life Points

Joey: 3250

Mako: 2800

"I'll end my turn here," Joey said.

"And starts mine," Mako said, his face full of renewed determination. "My fisherman may be gone, but he'll be back. It's not over yet Joey!"

OOO

"Pharaoh! Slow your skinny ass down!"

The obnoxious voice of the Tomb Robber (coupled with the insult) succeeded in rising Yami's temper, but he stopped anyway. Next to him, Kaiba growled at the hold up, but paused in the marathon dash toward the source of the Orichalcos. Bakura and Malik were charging toward them, the Millennium Ring glowing, and two pointers directing them up the corridor.

"You sensed it too then?" Malik asked. Kaiba snorted.

"No Ishtar, we just felt like racing up and down the corridors like idiots. Of course we sensed it! At this strength I'd be impressed if the Mutt hadn't spotted it, and he's about as dense as you can get!"

Malik frowned at Kaiba, but decided not to press his buttons any further. Yami was resisting the urge to shout at his rival for insulting Joey, but they had more important issues right now. The Millennium Ring gave an impatient tug onward, and Bakura growled at it.

"Behave!" he snapped, before pointing off in the direction it was leading him. "That way."

The four of them took off down the corridor, toward the ominous feeling, arriving eventually at the visitor's entrance to the stadium. At the moment, with everyone in the stadium watching the semi-finals, the room was empty.

"Where now?" Malik asked, but before anyone could answer, a shrill voice appeared, seemingly from out of nowhere.

"Heeheeheehee! Run run run! You'll never find us!"

"Weevil…" Yami growled.

"What is he, four?" Malik asked, pulling a disgusted face at Weevil's childish tone.

"No, that's just his mental capacity," Kaiba snorted, before raising his voice. "We know you're there Underwood! And when we find exactly what you're doing with the Orichalcos…"

"Ah ah ah!" Weevil's disembodied voice teased. "Idle threats will get you nowhere Kaiba!"

"Oh believe me!" Kaiba exploded. "This is far from an idle threat! This is a promise! No one, not even your precious Dark Lord messes with me and my brother!"

"Remain calm Kaiba," Yami ordered. "We need to keep our cool if we're going to find them."

"He's upstairs," Bakura said, the Ring now tuned into Weevil, and pointing toward the ceiling.

"Stairs are there," Malik said, pointing toward another doorway. "Let's go!"

As they entered the stairwell, a familiar laugh with all the pleasantness of a mosquito sounded, and at the very top stood the bug duellist himself. At the same time, Yami, Yugi and Kaiba all winced. Whatever they were doing up there involved a lot of Orichalcos stones, far more than they had expected.

"You won't get away with this!" Yami roared. Weevil just cackled again before turning and leaving the stairwell. Yami and Kaiba shot up after him.

"Get back here you little worm!" Malik shouted, as he and Bakura raced after their companions.

"Too late for that!" Weevil taunted. Yami panted as they reached the third floor. Two more to go…

"What are you doing with the Orichalcos?!" Bakura bellowed.

"As if we'd tell you!" Weevil's sneering voice taunted.

"We?" Malik said. "Raptor is with you too then is he?"

"Aren't you smart!" Weevil said. He was loud enough now that they could hear him without whatever aid he had been using to magnify his voice (the Orichalcos, Yami suspected, as he knew Weevil had no natural magic at all). They reached the fifth floor completely out of breath. Weevil was standing at the end of the corridor, a smirk on his face, which was just visible under the black hooded cloak he was wearing. Despite the covering, his gold beetle glasses identified him immediately.

"I can take him," Bakura offered.

"I hope so," Malik snorted. "He's half your size!"

"Good luck!" Weevil chuckled, and around his neck the Orichalcos stone shone, causing the door to swing shut. The four of them bolted for the closing gap, but the door crashed in their faces, blocking the smirking duellist from view. Yami slammed into the door first with Kaiba, Bakura and Malik hot behind him.

"Get it open!" he shouted desperately at the thief, who was already examining the lock. "Hurry!"

"Hold your horses Pharaoh!" came the retort as Bakura pulled out his lock picks.

"Where does this lead?" Malik asked.

"The roof," Kaiba replied, his face taking on a slightly alarmed look. "Overlooking the stadium! Mokuba's in there!"

"Yeah, never mind the four thousand other people there right now!" Malik said with a pinch of sarcasm.

"Can't you go any faster?!" Yami demanded in agitation.

"I'm trying Pharaoh!" Bakura snapped. "This isn't exactly the same as breaking into the tombs!"

What appeared to be a magical spark leaped from the door and zapped Bakura on the hand. He leaped back, dropping his lock picks and cursing.

"Damn it! It's magically sealed! Must be using the magic of the Orichalcos somehow."

"Out of the way," Malik ordered, pulling a card from his deck. "Legendary Fiend!"

The card glowed, and Malik's blue skinned demon materialised next to him.

"Get that door down!" the Egyptian boy ordered. The fiend didn't need much persuading, and shoulder charged the door, which began to cave inward as it was struck with a loud bang.

"That must be a hell of a lot of stones in there," Bakura said. "Even I can feel them. Are you two alright?"

He directed the last comment to Kaiba and Yami, who were pale and drawn, but still eager to get in there and throttle the life out of Weevil and Rex.

"Fine," Kaiba snapped. Bakura shrugged as Legendary Fiend went careening into the door again, causing it to dent further.

"Just making sure. Can't have weaklings taking on those morons."

Kaiba rounded on him. "Listen you…"

"Kaiba enough!" Yami barked angrily. "We need to work together here!"

"Spare me the teamwork speech!" Kaiba muttered, as with a third crash, the door was ripped from its hinges and flung inwards.

The rooftop was an open area, which overlooked the glass ceiling that hung above the duelling fields. Below them, they could see the several thousand spectators, and hear the low rumble of their cheers. Joey and Mako were still in the middle of battle, with their monsters squaring off against each other, the Legendary Ocean field spell creating the bizarre sensation that they were standing several miles above the sea instead of five stories above the stadium.

Weevil and Rex were observing all this with malicious grins on their faces. Yami could see the glints of several Orichalcos stones, which had been placed around the edges of the glass section of the roof. Yami knew instantly what they were for. Weevil and Rex appeared to be trying to thrown Joey off his game. Though if the display downstairs proved anything, Joey was holding up well.

"Holy Gods!" Bakura shouted, and Yami's attention went back to Weevil and Rex. He saw immediately what the problem was. Both of them had the Seal of Orichalcos branded on their foreheads.

"Gotcha!" Malik said, diving onto Weevil and pinning him to the floor. Bakura meanwhile, had tackled Rex in a similar fashion.

"Guard the door!" Malik barked at his monster. Legendary Fiend obeyed, positioning himself beside the now empty doorframe.

"Right…" Malik said, as Bakura picked Rex up by the scruff of his neck and slammed him against the wall. Malik picked up Weevil in a similar fashion, but he did not attempt to concuss him. Their hoods had fallen off and their faces were visible. It was clear neither of them had changed since the KC Championships, when Sigfried Von Schroder had beaten them in one turn. Weevil still had blue hair in a pudding basin cut, and his gold beetle glasses that were a dead giveaway to his deck style. Rex had not changed either, still covering his long brown hair with a red hat, and a single white tuft sticking out of the front.

"What do we do with these two?" Malik asked.

"I say we shake them upside down until they tell us what we want to know," Bakura suggested. Malik grinned maliciously.

"I like that idea," he said, before turning to Weevil. "So you'd better start talking you two!"

"Talking?" Weevil said innocently. "Oh we can do that if you wish. Why not talk about the weather…?"

"Shut up," Bakura snapped, and Malik finally lost his patience with his captive and slammed him against the wall beside Rex. "Now tell us what you're doing up here!"

"Didn't you just tell us to shut up?" Weevil asked. "And now you want us to talk? Indecisive aren't you?"

Malik growled and brought his free fist slamming with incredible force into Weevil's stomach. The bug duellist managed a screech of pain before he started wheezing.

"Render you speechless Weevil?" Malik asked. "Next time I'll render you unable to have kids!"

"Thanks for the pleasant imagery," Kaiba said dryly.

"Malik enough!" Yami barked angrily, recognising that the Orichalcos was having a negative effect on his friend. "Beating them won't help us!"

Malik's eyes narrowed in anger, but he didn't strike Weevil again.

"Now," Yami said, coming closer so that he could see the expressions on Weevil and Rex's faces. Rex was silent and staring at the ground, and Weevil was grimacing slightly, but other than that looking slightly calm. Yami frowned at this.

/_Something doesn't feel right_/ Yugi said. /_They're far too calm_…/

//_You're right_// Yami agreed. //_Weevil doesn't seem all that bothered that we've just crashed their party. And it's like Rex isn't even here…_//

/_Maybe he's not!_/ Yugi said suddenly. /_Look at Weevil's eyes!_/

Yami did so. The bug duellist's eyes, normally a malicious blue, were now a pinkish crimson colour from the influence of the Orichalcos, but as he looked on, Yami realised that there was something else unsettling about them.

//_I think you're right Yugi_// he said. //_This doesn't feel like pure Orichalcos magic controlling their emotions. It's more like when Malik uses the Rod on someone. Whoever they're working for must be mind-controlling them_//

"What are you doing up here?" Yami asked, aloud. "You two never responded to your applications to the Regionals. You can't compete this late in the tournament. Are you trying to sabotage the duels by manipulating the players with Orichalcos stones?"

Behind him, Kaiba was ordering Roland to send a team up to the roof to remove all the stones and have them transported to Kaiba Corp's secure vaults. He looked round in interest however as the Pharaoh began his line of questioning.

"Well aren't you smart Pharaoh?" Weevil asked, having got his breath back. The Seal of Orichalcos glowed, making him look slightly mad. "Of course we're here to throw the tournament off! Particularly that moronic friend of yours Wheeler!"

"And that's it?" Bakura asked in disbelief. "You came all the way to the Regionals just to sabotage it?"

Weevil gave a strange smirk.

"That and…other things…"

"Like what?" Yami asked, suspiciously.

"Where did you get the Orichalcos stones from anyway?" Malik butted in.

"Don't be an idiot Malik," Bakura snapped. "It's clear who they got them from. He's psychotic, thinks he should rule the world, and has the audacity to refer to himself as the 'Dark Lord'."

"Where is your master hiding?!" Kaiba bellowed angrily, having had enough of the preliminary questioning.

"Heeheehee," Weevil cackled. "Hiding? Ooh Kaiba, he's far from hiding…"

"Enough games Weevil!" Yami snapped. "Tell us where he is!"

Weevil was spared from answering as the comatose Rex raised his head to reveal that he was not comatose any longer. The Seal was branded on his forehead, and his eyes were shining.

"He is already here…"

And with those parting words, the Seals vanished from their heads, and they both went limp in their captors grasp.

OOO

**Life Points**

Joey: 350

Mako: 400

"Come on Time Wizard (500/400)!" Joey muttered, his fingers crossed. On the field, Joey's only monster raised its staff and the tiny spinner at the end began to rotate. The stadium audience were cheering, half of them yelling for a time warp, the other half yelling for a skull.

The only other monster present, was Mako's Ocean Dragon Lord - Neo-Daedalus, a phenomenally frightening looking blue and red sea serpent, which thanks to its ability had destroyed every card on the field and in both players hands, except for itself, leaving Joey wide open for a direct attack. Both duellists were down to their last sliver of life points each, and Joey, putting all his hopes on his draw, had played the only option left to him.

"No skulls!" Tea prayed, her hands over her mouth.

"Come on time warp!" Tristan cheered. As the spinner began to slow down, the audience hushed, now waiting with bated breath for the outcome.

The arrow ticked calmly around the face…skull…skull…

"YES!" Joey roared as the arrow shuddered to a halt on the hourglass. Around him half of the audience shrieked with joy, while the other half groaned aloud. Mako's shoulders slumped. He knew what was coming next.

"Time warp go!"

"Time Magic!" the tiny spellcaster chanted, sounding very much like a Dalek on helium. A vortex appeared above Mako's monster, and the sea serpent roared in anger as it vanished through time and space, leaving the Ocean duellist's side of the field empty.

"And now that your monster is out of the way," Joey said. "Time Wizard! Attack directly!"

Mako barely flinched as a small ball of energy blasted him.

Life Points

Joey: 350

Mako: 0

"The winner of round one of the semi finals is Joey Wheeler!"

Joey beamed as the crowd roared its approval, and the stands dropped back to ground level, before he approached Mako, who was shutting off his own duel disk, a disappointed but accepting smile on his face.

"Hey, Mako," Joey said giving him a reassuring look. "Awesome duel."

The ocean duellist smiled. "Yes you're right. Congratulations Joey."

The two duellists shook hands.

"You gave me a tough match out there," Joey said. "Thanks a lot Mako."

"Good luck in the finals," Mako smiled. "I'm sure you'll do just fine."

The crowd cheered again as both duellists left the arena. As Joey stepped through the door, it shut behind him, and he found himself facing Koji Oku, who smiled nervously.

"Congrats Joey."

"Thanks," the blonde said. "Good luck out there man."

The boy grinned. "Thanks. I hope I win. It'd be great to duel you in the finals."

Joey gave him a confident smile. "I look forward to it. Later."

He strode off, pulling his deck from his duel disk and replacing it in his pocket, before walking through the door and back into the duellist meeting room, the sense of victory still coursing through him. He was making a name for himself. This was his chance to make it big, and show people like Kaiba that he could duel and he did belong here. Definitely a step up from the guy who two years ago had had his deck filled with nothing but monster cards.

His thoughts flicked back to the sensation he had felt while duelling. That had definitely been the pulse of the Orichalcos. He had no doubt about it. And judging by the way Ryou and Malik had vanished half way through, and the fact that Yugi had not shown up at all, he was gathering that it was bad news.

Lost in his thoughts, Joey was surprised to find that he had wandered straight through the meeting room and into the visitors' entrance. Yami, Bakura and Malik were standing in the middle of the room, talking in hushed voices. Yami looked up when Joey appeared, and relief spread across his face.

"Joey! I'm sorry we never showed up. There was an…"

"Orichalcos related disturbance?" Joey interjected. "Yeah I felt it too. Is everything okay?"

"Not really," Yami shook his head, before remembering something. "Did you win?"

"Of course!" Joey said, rolling his eyes. "But what's going on exactly?"

"Your old friends," Bakura said. "Weevil and Rex were on the roof with a hefty stash of stones. Looked at first like they were trying to make you throw the duel, but now…"

"We think they were a distraction," Malik picked up. "Rex said Voldemort is here somewhere."

Joey looked alarmed and then angered. "Those punks! Where are they?!"

"Unconscious," Yami reported. "Kaiba's still up there, organising his team. He's having them take Rex and Weevil to hospital, as well as removing all the stones up there. They'll be taken to a secure vault at Kaiba Corp."

"We should start looking for Voldemort," Malik said. "Who knows what he could do. There are duels going on right now. He could have the Seal activated and take the souls of everyone in the stadium."

Yami nodded. "Bakura can you track him down with the Ring?"

Bakura picked the said object up. "Ring! Locate Lord Voldemort!"

The Ring did nothing, remaining motionless in its master's hand.

"Nuts," Malik cursed. "Maybe Rex was lying and he's not here yet." Bakura on the other hand groaned, slapping his forehead with his free hand.

"No," he shook his head. "I should have known this would happen. The Ring won't lock onto Voldemort, because it doesn't know who we're looking for. Watch."

He shook the Ring again and barked. "Find the Nameless Pharaoh!"

Once again, the Ring remained inert.

"See," Bakura shrugged. "It doesn't lock onto the Pharaoh because it needs his real name. And I somehow doubt Lord Voldemort is the Dark Lord's real name."

"So basically," Malik said. "The Ring can't find him. So we're going to have to wait for the next surge of Orichalcos magic before we know he's here."

They all turned as the first of Kaiba's men began descending the stairs with locked boxes, which appeared to be where the stones were being stored.

"Sensing one man, in all this dark magic is going to be hell," Joey summarised.

OOO

Deep beneath the stadium, in a corridor used only by the janitors, a pulse of green light appeared out of nowhere. The light grew in size, forming the shape of a human before dying down, to reveal the tall pale form of Lord Voldemort. The Dark Lord stepped calmly into the corridor, the Orichalcum around his neck glowing once more before lying there innocently.

Above his head, Voldemort could hear the screams of the muggles in the stadium, and the thunder of footsteps, which indicated that the duel was over, and it was currently the intermission. The bearers would no doubt regroup and try to organise some kind of strategy against him. But he did not need to worry about them. Their magic was feeble compared to what he wielded.

Drawing his wand from within his robes, Voldemort muttered a spell, and immediately his wand shot a jet of silvery light off down one end of the corridor. Satisfied that he would find his intended target in that direction, the Dark Lord swept off after his spell, his cloak swishing behind him.

OOO

It didn't take Tristan, Tea and Mokuba long to get out of the stadium. Getting backstage however meant fighting through the fans again however, and was understandably more difficult. Fortunately for them, the competitors' room was deserted. Once they made it, Yami, Bakura and Malik briefed them on the events that had occurred on the rooftop. Kaiba had also joined them, though this was more because he knew that Voldemort had more reason to go after the geek squad than him, rather than any sort of personal choice. His team had already left to store and seal the Orichalcum from the roof, and he had also ordered Roland to go search for Pegasus, and tell the creator to come and find them immediately.

"Who in their right mind hires Weevil and Rex as cronies?" Tristan snorted in disdain.

"Someone who doesn't know an idiot when they see one," Joey said.

"Unless…" Tea said thoughtfully. "Voldemort knew that they used the Orichalcos before."

Everyone looked at her.

"Think about it," she continued. "There are plenty of far better duellists he could pick. Why pick those two? Unless he knew that they had been involved with Dartz. After all, their anger against Yugi and Joey makes them pretty powerful when they use it."

"Good point Tea," Tristan nodded. "If they thought they could use the Orichalcos to beat Yugi and Joey, that could be plenty of incentive for them to join up with Voldemort.

"Rex and Weevil would never willingly go back to the Orichalcos," Yami shook his head.

"Yeah they might be jerks," Joey said. "But the Orichalcos messed with them badly. I don't think they'd be stupid enough to use it again of their own free will."

"Did either of you three notice?" Malik asked, turning to Yami, Bakura and Kaiba. None of the others seemed to know what he was on about, but Yami nodded.

"The look in their eyes? I saw it. It looked like they were being controlled, either by the Orichalcos or by wizard magic."

"Or a mixture of both," Bakura pointed out. "Combining the two could be pretty powerful."

"It could also be pretty volatile," Joey said. "Remember what Dark Magician Girl said Yugi? She said that Voldemort mixing the magic was causing problems."

"Alright, enough of the fairytales!" Kaiba snapped. "I don't care why Rex and Weevil were working for this guy. All that matters is that they were! Now they said Voldemort was due to show up here at some point, and I am not seeing this tournament sabotaged!"

"Because your company's name is all over it," Tristan snorted.

"Because my brother is watching!" Kaiba retorted.

"Enough!" Yami snapped. "Kaiba do what you want to keep Mokuba out of danger. We're going to look for Voldemort."

"I'll come too," Joey said. "There's another twenty minutes until the finals begin, I can help for a bit at least."

"Are you sure you don't want to prep for the finals?" Tea asked.

"I'll be fine," Joey said. "This is more important."

"I say we pair up," Bakura said, picking up the Ring where it lay around his neck and turning to Joey. "C'mon Wheeler. Let's go check out the competitor areas."

The two left the room, the Millennium Ring jingling as its master gave it instructions.

"Tea, Tristan, you two come with me to check the stadium before it fills up with fans again," Yami said. His two friends nodded and followed him through the door.

"Guess that leaves Kaiba and me to hunt around the staff areas," Malik said. Kaiba rolled his eyes and muttered something about blonde psychos, which Malik chose to ignore, and the two set off on their own hunt.

OOO

"Astonishing…simply astonishing!"

"Yes we know how astonishing it is Dad," Ginny Weasley said impatiently. "Now can you get it working or not?"

"Here Mr Weasley try this," Harry said helpfully, picking up the end of the aerial cable and inserting into the correct place on the television. The screen flickered a few times and Harry, remembering what his Uncle used to do if the TV was not working, banged his fist on the top. The picture immediately evened out to show that they were currently tuned into the week's replay of Eastenders.

"Okay, we have a picture," Mr Weasley said brightly. "Now what channel was it you wanted to watch? I need to know the area it was broadcast from so I can tune it in correctly."

"Japan," Harry said. "Domino City, Japan."

Mr Weasley disappeared behind the television screen again, and began tapping the aerial and the screen with his wand, occasionally muttering incantations. Harry had been sceptical at the idea of mixing a television with magic, particularly since the object in question was currently running off several of Mr Weasley's prized batteries, which would only last two hours at best. But he, Ron and Ginny had been eager to see the Regionals. And of course, the head of the Weasley family was never about to let an excuse to tinker with his muggle artefacts go wasted.

"Okay…tell me when I get the right one…" Mr Weasley said, his head no longer visible from behind the screen. "I'm currently getting all the signals active in Japan."

The images on the screen began to change rapidly, with cartoons, news reports, weather reports, television dramas, documentaries and other shows going zooming past. All three of them gave a start however as familiar looking holographic monsters suddenly appeared.

"This could be it," Harry said, and the channel hopping abruptly stopped, as the shows banner appeared onscreen. The subtitles underneath read "Japanese Regional Championships" in perfect English. From what Yugi had told them over the term, the Championships were often watched worldwide, so subtitling was a must for any network that did not run their own coverage of the duels.

"This is it," Harry confirmed, and Mr Weasley finally pulled his head out from behind the television to see what had caught his children's attention. At the moment they were running through the playoffs with highlights of the previous matches. The line-up for the finals then flashed across the screen.

"There's Joey," Ron pointed out. "Guess he made it to the finals after all. The guys must be pleased."

"Extraordinary…" Mr Weasley breathed as the names of the Championship sponsors (Industrial Illusions and Kaiba Corporation) appeared.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Ron assured his father. "Wait till the duelling starts."

OOO

In the men's bathroom, just down the corridor from the competitor's room, Koji Oku stood at the sink, splashing water onto his face, and basking in the sense of pride, for making it to the finals, and for succeeding in avoiding his fangirls for the millionth time that day. He hadn't been joking when he had told Yugi and Joey that he didn't know how they coped. As soon as he had got into the visitors area to find his parents, he had been crushed by a mob of girls who had squealed (in very high pitched voices) about how cute he was. Naturally, he had run as fast as he could in the other direction.

Finishing up, he reattached his disk and headed for the door, making sure to press his ear against it first to listen for any signs of his crazy fan community. Hearing nothing he relaxed and pushed the door open, striding out into the corridor, the happiness coming off him in waves…

"Congratulations young man."

The lights in the corridor seemed to dim dramatically, and Koji jumped and spun around to face the speaker. Immediately he felt a shiver of fear run through him. He squashed it quickly, not wanting to appear afraid, but the man before him was downright creepy. He was dressed in what looked like black robes, which only made him seem even paler. His eyes were the freakiest though. They were blood red and nothing more but slits in the man's face.

"Who are you?" Koji asked, immediately on his guard.

"My name," the figure said. "Is Voldemort. And I am here to help you Koji."

Koji's eyebrows arched. "With what?"

Seemingly out of nowhere, Voldemort produced a card and held it out to the boy.

"This card is for you. I have seen your duels. You are a very gifted young man. This will help you win this afternoon."

Koji wasn't stupid. Even if he hadn't been getting creepy vibes from this person right from the start, he knew no one just gave away cards like that. There was something wrong about this guy.

"What's the catch?" he asked shrewdly. Voldemort bristled with irritation, but he controlled it quickly. He was using a very subtle form of magic on Koji, trying to get the younger boy to trust him. But the kid's defences were very impressive for one so young and it was clear he was not falling for it.

"This card is not all it seems Koji," the Dark Lord whispered. "It carries great power. You can have this power. The only string would be that I may occasionally call upon you to duel for me…"

Koji was really not liking this now. As he shifted in the dimly lit corridor, his eyes drifted over the card in the skeletal fingers, and focused on the name.

_The Seal of Orichalcos._

The boy looked alarmed as he remembered where he had seen that name before.

"That card is illegal!" he said taking a few hasty steps away from the man. "Industrial Illusions put out a warning about it four months ago! No way am I taking that!"

The Dark Lord heaved a sigh, and replaced the Seal inside his robes.

"Well then…a shame really," he muttered, now pulling out what appeared to Koji to be a long stick of wood. "Such a young life…all wasted now…"

It was fortunate for Koji, that the door at the end of the corridor banged open at this point to reveal Joey Wheeler and Ryou Bakura, the latter who was holding the glowing Millennium Ring. Both stopped dead at the sight before them.

"Koji!" Joey recognised the smaller of the two. His eyes narrowed as he took in Voldemort. "This guy bothering you pal?"

"Joey!" Koji sounded relieved. "He's got an illegal card!"

"All I needed to hear," Joey said, striding towards Voldemort with a look on his face that promised pain. The Dark Lord hissed and flicked his wand in the direction of the two teens. There was a dull explosion and a cloud of emerald green smoke fogged everyone's vision, and caused everyone to choke.

When the mess cleared, Voldemort was gone.

"Damn!" Bakura snapped angrily.

"Koji?!" Joey was trying to see through the dissipating smoke for the other duellist.

"I'm here," the younger coughed, and Joey relaxed as his face came into view. "What was that?"

"Smoke bomb of some kind," Joey said, not really wanting to tell the kid that it was magic. Bakura was already racing out of the corridor to find the others. "What did he want Koji?"

"He wanted me to work for him," the boy explained. "Said his name was Voldemort and if I took that card from him I'd be able to win."

"Lemme guess," Joey said. "The Seal of Orichalcos?"

Koji nodded. "I remembered seeing the warning Industrial Illusions put out about that card and I told him I wouldn't do it. Then you guys appeared…who was he exactly Joey?"

"A terrorist, if you can believe it," Joey said, making sure to skate around the details a bit. "You said you heard that Industrial Illusions put out a hit on the Seal a few months ago?" At this Koji nodded. "Well it was because of that guy. He's been giving that card to people and making them work for him. We found Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood earlier, also working for him. They were trying to sabotage the tournament."

Koji's eyes widened. "Terrorism through duelling? That sounds nuts!"

"_If only you knew kid_," Joey thought to himself.

"You're okay though right?" Joey asked. "You didn't take anything from him did you?"

He was worried that Koji might have been tricked into taking something seemingly unassuming – like a piece of Orichalcum. Koji however just snorted.

"You think I'm dumb enough to take anything from a guy with a face like that?!"

Joey's worried look faded and he chuckled instead.

"Point taken," he said. "Okay. I'm glad you're all right. If you see that punk again let me know okay?"

"Got it," Koji nodded, before remembering something. "Hey our duel starts in ten minutes. We should head up."

"Good point," Joey said. "And best of luck out there."

"You too!" Koji grinned, before heading off toward the staircase. Joey followed, hoping that Bakura was on Voldemort's tail, and that nothing would go wrong now. Koji was a good kid, and the last thing Joey wanted to see was this tournament, and indeed the whole game ruined for him.

OOO

Voldemort cursed, pacing back and forth in agitation, his eyes glowing angrily. Not only had he failed to tempt Oku onto his side, but also now the bearers were scouring the building for him. He had caught a glimpse of one of them when his interrogation with Oku had been interrupted. The Millennium Ring had identified him immediately as Ryou Bakura…one of the boys who according to Evert, was possessed by an ancient spirit. Voldemort had been sceptical, but he had detected no lie coming from his servant, and the few seconds he had managed to see the boy had confirmed it. That boy's eyes were not natural.

He would find no more help here at the Regionals. He was curious however, and wanted to test the real strength of the bearers, and judge just how much of a nuisance they might be to him.

It was time to make a call.

OOO

Yami had never made it to the stadium. He had sent Tea and Tristan ahead after they had run into Pegasus on their way there. The Pharaoh had briefed Pegasus, and was now in the process of trying to shake off his persistent questions, when he felt the sweep of magic, and the wave of nausea that accompanied the power of the Orichalcos. He gritted his teeth and gripped his stomach, trying to hold back a growl of discomfort.

"Pharaoh?" Pegasus looked concerned, but there was a pinch in his face that indicated that he had felt it too, however faintly.

"I'll be fine," Yami said, drawing a deep breath and sending a wave of reassurance to Yugi.

"If you're sure," Pegasus said. "But do be careful with Yugi-boy's body."

Yami's glare sharpened and zeroed onto Pegasus. "I don't need you telling me how to look after my hikari Pegasus. Someone is activating a stone, and I'll bet its Voldemort…"

He was distracted as Bakura came racing along the corridor.

"Pharaoh," Bakura panted, not breaking his dash, and completely ignoring Pegasus. "Voldemort is here! Wheeler and I just saw him, but he scrammed before we could do anything!"

Alarm flared through Yugi and Yami's minds as Bakura shot past them. "Is Joey okay?"

"He's fine. Explain later. We need to move!" Bakura instructed, shoulder charging the door open and vanishing. Yami was right behind him.

"Make yourself useful Pegasus," the Pharaoh shouted over his shoulder. "And go tell Kaiba and Malik! We may need them!"

Not wanting to argue with an obviously busy ex-king, Pegasus hurried off in the opposite direction to the last place he had seen the CEO and the Tomb Keeper.

OOO

"Damn, this kid's good!" Ron muttered, watching the screen with intense concentration. The finals were already well underway, with Koji taking a quick lead in terms of life points and field. Next to her brother, Ginny was enthralled and Harry winced at the forceful action. He had seen tabletop duels between the transfers, and of course the duel in Hogsmeade between Yugi and Ivan, but the championships proved just how serious this game was. All the duellists were fierce, and the holographic technology was spectacular, providing quite the show even if you weren't a hundred percent clear on the rules.

"He is," Ginny agreed with her brother. "But I'm sure Joey will be fine. Your friends always speak highly of him, especially Yugi."

"Yugi and Joey are best friends," Harry said. "They must all be glad to be home. I know they all missed everyone in Japan."

Onscreen, Joey summoned his Little-Winguard (1400/1800) and ordered it to attack Koji's Raging Flame Sprite (1100/200). Both duellists had two monsters each, Koji having Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000), which was curled around its master like a snake, and Raging Flame Sprite, which thanks to its ability, had already gained an extra one thousand attack points. Joey's other monster on the field was Alligator's Sword (1500/1200). Thought it was in Japanese, the subtitling was catching every move the duellists made.

"This is quite amazing!" Mr Weasley said. He had stuck around to see just how the television worked, and was now just as enthralled as the rest of them.

"It is," Ginny nodded. "Ooh I can't wait to see them duel at school!"

"That will be awesome," Ron agreed, wincing as Koji activated Gravity Bind, which stopped Joey's Little-Winguard dead in its tracks.

Harry never thought he'd hear Ron eager to go back to school. But then again, he mused, there was plenty in life that he had never thought he would see, like duelling holograms, and a card that could seal your soul away.

OOO

"I'll use the effect of my Winguard to switch him to defence mode," Joey said. "And I'll end my turn."

"My move then," Koji said, drawing from his deck and beaming. "I summon my second Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000)!"

Joey repressed a groan as a second Solar Flare Dragon appeared next to the first, the two coiling around each other and Raging Flame Sprite – who giggled mischievously.

"Gotta love locks!" Koji chuckled, sounding rather like his monsters. "Especially when it means I can take out a thousand of your life points at the end of each turn! And with Gravity Bind out, you can't attack me with anything that's level four or above anyway!"

"Good combo man," Joey complimented.

"Thanks!" Koji smiled. "And let's not forget about Raging Flame Sprite! Attack him directly with Forest Fire Spark!"

The sprite giggled again and brandished his small burning torch at Joey, who immediately found himself surrounded by flames. He cried out as his life points were decreased further.

**Life Points**

Joey: 6300

Koji: 8000

As Joey looked up from the damage the attack had caused, Raging Flame Sprite let out another laugh as his attack points increased to 2100.

"And now I'll end my turn," Koji continued. "And because I'm doing that, my Solar Flare Dragons take a thousand of your life points!"

Each dragon fired a small fire bolt in Joey's direction. He shielded his eyes with his hand, and yelled as he felt flames lick his shins.

**Life Points**

Joey: 5300

Koji: 8000

"You okay Joey?" Koji asked.

"Yeah, fine," the blonde replied. As a matter of fact, he was not fine. A horrible conclusion had just jumped into his mind.

"_Those flames felt pretty damn real," _he thought. "_Too real. I hope I'm just being paranoid and Voldemort isn't using his magic to make the attacks hurt more…because if he does, this could get really dangerous…"_

OOO

"Yugi!"

"Find anything guys?" Malik asked, as Yami and Bakura came racing toward them.

"The Ring is sensing a surge of energy on the roof," Bakura reported. Sure enough, the pointers of the Millennium Ring were all pointing skyward.

"You're using cheap party tricks to find this guy?" Kaiba snorted in distain. Yami glared at him and Bakura looked venomous.

"My Millennium Ring is no trick, High Priest!" Bakura spat. To the casual eye, Kaiba looked as if he had not heard, but Yami saw how his back stiffened slightly at the mention of his past life – something that he always rejected.

"Let's get moving," Malik suggested, seeing the tension between the CEO and the thief rise. Barging past Kaiba, Bakura led the way.

"What do we do when we find Voldemort?" Malik asked.

"We beat the ever loving crap out of him," Bakura said obviously. "Why, did you have something else in mind?"

"Stopping whatever he's doing with the Orichalcos up there?" Malik suggested.

"That works too," the thief admitted, shoulder charging a door open with a loud bang.

"You're going to get us discovered if you keep making noise like that," Yami chided.

"Too late," Bakura said, pulling to an abrupt stop, causing everyone behind him to almost run him over. Stalking the corridor were a swarm of six Death Eaters.

Yami reacted first, ripping a card from his deck and shouting "Swords of Revealing Light!"

The Millennium Puzzle glowed and the cage of golden swords slammed down around the Death Eaters, securing them in place.

"Must you always do that?" Bakura asked tetchily.

"Got a better suggestion?" Yami asked, as they weaved in between the frozen Death Eaters.

"We could have just blasted them," Bakura said in an irritated voice.

"And how long would we have remained undetected then?" Kaiba sneered nastily. "Shut up and keep moving," he ordered as Bakura opened his mouth to retort. "We're almost there…"

No sooner were the words out of his mouth, than the lights in the corridor crackled and went out, leaving only the faint glow from the swords alive.

"We aren't scared of the dark Voldemort!" Malik bellowed loudly for the whole corridor to hear. "Come and fight us yourself!"

As soon as he had said it, the swords began to flicker and die, leaving only the various jets of multicoloured light bouncing around to illuminate the corridor.

OOO

**Life Points**

Joey: 2200

Koji: 8000

"I play, Giant Trunade!" Joey shouted, watching with satisfaction as Gravity Bind and Koji's facedown card were blowing back to their owner's hand by the ferocious winds.

"What was the point of that?" Koji asked, frowning. "Raging Flame Sprite has thirty one hundred attack points. Nothing in your deck can beat that! And even if they could, so long as my Solar Flare Dragon are out, you can't attack any pyro monsters anyway."

The sprite, who now was a lot bigger and more dangerous looking, giggled again. Joey just smiled.

"You'll see in a moment," he promised. "For now, I play the spell card, Landstar Forces. This lets me special summon as many monsters with "Landstar" in their name as possible from my hand. So I summon Brigadier of Landstar (900/1200)!"

On the field, a tiny little pink-faced warrior appeared, dressed in brown breeches, a white shirt and a large brown hat with a feather sticking out of it. He also carried a rather impressive looking shotgun.

"…Okay, I'll bite," Koji said. "What are you up to?"

"This," Joey said, picking up his three monsters from his duel disk. "I tribute my Little-Winguard, my Alligator's Sword, and my Brigadier of Landstar…"

On the field the three monsters exploded.

"…to summon Gilford the Lightning (2800/1400)!" Joey cried, slamming the card onto his disk. Lightning shot around the stadium and where the three monsters had previously stood, was a muscular warrior in silver armour and an orange cloak. Across his back was strapped a massive sword.

"Whoa!" Koji looked awestruck. "Awesome monster Joey!...but he's three hundred points short of Raging Flame Sprite, so why did you summon him?"

"Because he can do this!" Joey said, now positively grinning in excitement. "When I summon him using three monsters as tributes, he can destroy every monster on your side of the field!"

Koji's eyes got wider. "What?!"

"Gilford, show him what you got!" Joey commanded. "Wipe out both his dragons, and that Raging Flame Sprite!"

At Joey's words, the warrior pulled his sword off his back and the blade began to crackle with electricity. With a massive swipe of the weapon, all three of Koji's monsters screamed as they were cut cleanly in two.

"Oh crud…" the boy muttered.

"Sorry man," Joey apologised. "That was a good strategy you had going. But now its time I evened the score! Gilford, attack directly with Lightning Sword!"

A flash of lightning and a swing of Gilford's blade later, and Koji was sitting on his rump, wincing at the pain that had shot through his body. Joey winced as he remembered that the activity of magic in the stadium was making the attacks feel more real than regular holograms. He instantly felt bad.

"You okay Koji?" he called over. The boy shook his head as if to clear it of cobwebs.

**Life Points**

Joey: 2200

Koji: 5200

"_Man I hope he ain't mad,"_ Joey thought. "_Who knows what the Orichalcos being around could do to him if he's upset."_

But to his relief, Koji was grinning.

"Wow!" he said. "That was intense!"

And he jumped back to his feet.

"You aren't too sore are you?" Joey asked, feeling a little relieved by his opponent's quick recovery.

"Nah!" Koji said waving a dismissive hand. "Hurt like hell, but I'm having a blast! Is it my move?"

"Just let me set this facedown," Joey said, doing so. The holographic card appeared behind Gilford. "Now it's your move."

"Awesome!" Koji grinned, drawing. "Then its time for a comeback!"

OOO

Up on the rooftop, Voldemort stopped concentrating and smirked. His Death Eaters were engaged with the bearers, and those kids appeared to be holding their own. He was impressed. The bearers had more power than he had anticipated. He knew from the limited information that Evert had gathered from his contact, that the Items possessed great magical energy, and the few visions that the Orichalcos had been able to provide him with had proved just how much.

"_Power or not,"_ the Dark Lord mused. "_Their magic pales in comparison to the Orichalcos._"

Taking a look off the roof and down into the stadium, Voldemort smirked again. He knew that his magical signature was having an effect on the duel. The monsters and their attacks were a little more realistic than regular duels. He was surprised however that neither duellist had felt the effects that the magic had on their negative emotions. He suspected that Wheeler's power as one of the chosen duellists, and Oku's childish innocence were protecting them both from their anger.

He scowled a little, before shaking his head. Sealing the people in the stadium could wait until later. He had annoying Item bearers to deal with.

Sensing another of his Death Eaters fall, he swept from the roof and down the staircase to meet with the ones who were opposing him.

OOO

"Dark Magic Attack!" Yami bellowed. Dark Magician fired another blast of magical energy from the end of his staff, and another Death Eater crashed into the wall, his wand clattering uselessly to the floor.

So far they weren't fairing too badly. Of the six Death Eaters in the corridor, three of them were now down. Malik had summoned Revival Jam to keep the attacks away from them, unfortunately his monsters ability required him to pay energy every time it revived itself, and he was beginning to look weak. Bakura on the other hand had summoned Diabound and the fiend was revelling in the darkness.

As a spell streaked past Yami and almost took a chunk out of his side, Bakura snarled.

"Diabound! Helical Shockwave!"

A wave of energy blasted past Yami and into the Death Eater who had tried to take him out.

"Thanks," Yami gasped.

"Don't bother," Bakura shrugged. "I'd just hate to see you lose such a big chunk of your flesh…"

He was caught off as a stray stunning spell caught him in the back and sent him falling to his knees.

"Bakura!" Yami yelled, hearing Malik scream behind him. The second Death Eater remaining had him under the Cruciatus Curse.

"Draining Shield!" Kaiba yelled, and in a burst of light, a shining barrier appeared between the Death Eater and Malik, absorbing the spell and causing the colour to return to Malik's cheeks. Diabound meanwhile, furious at his master's injury, grappled with the Death Eater that had hexed him, before its snake tail sunk its teeth into the Death Eaters throat. The man crumpled, blood seeping from his throat. Diabound quickly hurried to the side of his fallen master.

"Are you alright Malik?" Yami asked, hurrying to his friend's side. Malik however just got back to his feet.

"Wow that was a rush!" he grinned as Revival Jam returned to his side. "Thanks for the boost Kaiba!"

Kaiba, who was rolling Bakura over, just grunted in a way that Malik took to mean he was welcome.

"How nauseatingly sweet," came a cold voice from the end of the corridor. The three conscious people looked up to see the tall robed figure advancing on them with his wand drawn. Diabound growled menacingly and Dark Magician readied himself for attack.

Yami didn't even need to think before guessing who the new arrival was. The Orichalcos stone, the eyes, and the general aura of evil that surrounded this man were enough of an indication.

"Voldemort!" he spat.

"Aren't you smart Yugi?" Voldemort hissed before a smirk curled at his lips. "Or should I call you the Nameless Pharaoh?"

Yami gave no indication other than the narrowing of his eyes, but underneath he and Yugi were both rocked to their core.

"_He knows!"_

Kaiba's ice blue eyes were also narrowing at Voldemort. "So you're the one who sent Makira to attack me and Mokuba!"

"Indeed," the Dark Lord replied honestly. "She was so full of anger…so easy to bend to my will…"

Malik would have liked nothing better than to throttle Voldemort. A lot of what he was saying sounded dangerously like what he had sounded like when he went about controlling people's minds…including the minds of those he now considered friends.

Kaiba looked about ready to spit fire…or white lightning.

"Look. I don't know who you think you're messing with, but what matters is that you did mess with me…and more importantly, you messed with my little brother! You won't get away with that!"

"I wonder," Voldemort replied, the Orichalcum around his neck glowing slightly. "Just how would you be able to carry out that threat? I sense that your magic is immense, but you have yet to tap into it properly. You could never hope to match me in skill…"

"I've heard enough of this nonsense!" Kaiba roared, and under distraction, Yami waved his want to revive Bakura. The thief let out a low stream of Ancient Egyptian curses as Kaiba seized another of his cards and bellowed "I summon Kaiser Glider (2400/2200)!"

The bronze coloured dragon appeared before him. It let out a bellow before releasing a ball of flames from its jaws.

"Dark Magic Attack!" Yami ordered, and the two combined attacks were blasted toward the Dark Lord…

Who reappeared from the blaze, perfectly unharmed behind a shield of Orichalcos magic. However his eyes had narrowed harder and his anger had peaked.

"So," he said, dropping his shield. "If that is how you want to play…"

He raised his wand, but before he could do anything a knife slashed its way through the pale skin of his wrist. Voldemort let out a high-pitched scream, and dropping his wand, blood streaming from the wound.

Bakura breathed hard with the effort of moving so soon after being stunned.

"Didn't we make ourselves clear?" the thief hissed. "This is our game, and we will not be beaten at it!"

Voldemort's wand flew back into his injured hand, but he stopped quickly as he realised something.

All three bearers, and the CEO were glaring at him, utterly enraged. More impressive however were their magical auras. From the Pharaoh radiated raw untainted power and authority that was hard to ignore. Kaiba's aura was much the same, only while Yami's looked like it might burn the opposition, the CEO's looked as though it would freeze them. Then there was Bakura, dark, rough, untamed and deadly, and Malik, much the same, but with the sharp innovative mind that came with youth.

It was clear for the three bearers, that going to Hogwarts had done wonders for their magical skills, and the energies surrounding them reflected that. Voldemort smirked. He knew what he had wanted to find out. These four – five if you included the other chosen duellist – were a powerful foe, and he would have to weaken them before he took them out. And with the power of the Orichalcos he would do just that.

Besides, he could hardly duel with an injured wand arm. And so another cloud of green smoke filled the corridor as it done earlier as the Dark Lord made his escape.

"Fucking coward!" Bakura roared, obviously realising what was going on. Diabound gave a scream of anger and Dark Magician and Kaiser Glider fiercely attacked the direction that the wizard had been standing in. But it was useless. When the distraction cleared, the corridor was empty.

Yami scowled angrily, mentally wishing the wrath of all the Gods of Egypt on Voldemort. Behind him, Bakura and Malik were doing the same but verbally. Kaiba let out a dragon like growl, which he quickly curbed as he put his usual mask back on his face.

"He'll pay," Yami rumbled in a low voice. "He'll pay for everything he's done."

"He can't hide from us forever," Bakura agreed, getting to his feet unsteadily and brushing off Malik who tried to help him.

"We'll hunt him down and destroy him," Kaiba growled, once again sounding just like one of his beloved dragons."

"Before anyone else gets hurt," Malik added onto the end of their solemnly spoken promise.

OOO

"You know what you have to do Koji!" Joey yelled, above the obnoxiously cheerful carnival music that had been spewing from his trap card for the last five turns.

Koji bit his lip as once again, a coin appeared above Joey's Fairy Box trap card. On Joey's side of the field, sat a facedown monster, but towering even higher on Koji's side was Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch, a monster in red armour, who's body was currently surrounded by flames thanks to his Salamandra spell card (3100/1000). Also equipped to him was Premature Burial.

"I call heads!" Koji shouted, and the coin descended onto the field. It clattered to the floor revealing…a blank side.

Koji palmed his forehead as Thestalos's attack dropped to 0, and Joey's facedown Sasuke Samurai (500/800) withstood the attack.

**Life Points**

Joey: 800

Koji: 2200

"Okay," Koji said. "I'll end my turn."

As Joey reached for his deck, a yell from the stands caught his attention.

"Come on Joey!" Yugi cheered as loudly as he could.

"We're all right behind you pal!" Malik joined in. Joey grinned widely.

"_Guess they sorted everything out_," he thought. _"Then that just leaves me to wrap up this duel!"_

"Alright," Joey said, drawing and smiling happily at what he had drawn. "I chose not to pay for Fairy Box this turn."

There was an explosion as the trap card vanished and the carnival music died abruptly.

"Thanks," Koji said earnestly. "That music was really starting to bug me."

Joey chuckled. "Not a problem. But this will be for you. I play the spell card, Star Blaster!"

Above his head, appeared a small imp dressed in red and black, carrying a huge red die in its hands. The tiny creature threw its cargo into the middle of the field, where it clattered along the ground and landed on a five.

"Whoa boy…" Koji muttered, knowing exactly where this was going.

"I take it you guessed what that means," Joey said. "I tribute my Sasuke Samurai, who's level is two, and add that five I just rolled to that…meaning I get to special summon a level seven monster from my hand. And I know just the monster too! Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000)!"

The tiny warrior vanished from the field along with the imp, and on the field appeared Joey's favourite monster, roaring loudly to everyone in the stadium.

"But I'm not done with my dragon," Joey continued. "I'm going to tribute him for something even more powerful."

"You're tributing your Red Eyes?" Koji asked in confusion. "For what?"

"This…" Joey said, removing Red Eyes and placing another card on his disk. "I tribute Red-Eyes Black Dragon…to summon Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon (2400/2000)!"

Joey's dragon vanished and was replaced by a darker more sinister looking version of Red-Eyes, this one with red and black scales, and glowing ruby red gems on its wings and legs.

"Nice!" Koji remarked. "But he's weaker than Thestalos…"

He trailed off as Joey flipped the card in his hand over to reveal…Megamorph.

"…Oh," Koji sounded deflated before perking up again. "But even if you do that your dragon will only have forty eight hundred attack points Joey. I'll still have life points left at the end of this duel!"

"Sorry man," Joey said, plugging the spell in and watching as his Red Eyes attack points suddenly doubled. "But there's something about Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon you should know. He also gains three hundred attack points for every dragon in my graveyard."

"Every dragon!" Koji exclaimed, realising what this meant.

"Yup," Joey nodded. "And not only do I have my Red-Eyes Black Dragon in my graveyard, but I've also got Red-Eyes Black Chick in there, thanks to your Firestorm Monarchs ability! So that's another six hundred attack points for my Darkness Dragon!"

Koji gulped loudly as Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon roared loudly and its attack shot up to 5400.

"This is gonna sting…" the boy remarked.

"Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon! Attack Thestalos and wipe out Koji's life points!" Joey commanded. "Inferno Dark Fire!"

The dragon roared, a ball of black flames in its mouth before it released them at the Monarch, who shielded himself as he exploded into powerful flames. Behind him, Koji cringed as the holographic dark fire scorched, but it did no real damage.

**Life Points**

Joey: 800

Koji: 0

The stadium exploded into chaos.

"Yeah Joey!" Yugi cheered.

"You the man bro!" Tristan called.

"Awesome!" Malik punched the air.

Joey beamed. Koji looked flabbergasted at the destruction of his monster…before he shook his head and a grin lit up his face.

"That was the coolest duel I've ever had!"

"No hard feelings right?" Joey asked, still grinning like a fool as the stadiums lowered and he began to walk toward the centre. Koji shook his head and he practically bounced to meet Joey in the middle of the arena.

"Nah! This has been a blast from beginning to end! You were an awesome opponent Joey!"

"Thanks man!" Joey was genuinely touched by his opponent's happy acceptance.

"But you owe me a rematch some day!" Koji grinned.

"You got it!" Joey said immediately, and the two clasped hands. They barely noticed the announcement to the stadium, reintroducing Pegasus to present the prizes and announcing that both Joey and Koji had invitations to the East Asian Championships in just under three months, until the CEO of Industrial Illusions himself approached them.

"The underdog no longer, hey Joseph?" Pegasus said with a twinkle in his eye.

"You know it," Joey said, accepting the cup with a satisfied grin on his face. Pegasus then handed over the prize money to both duellists in the form of two envelopes, along with official invitations to the East Asian Championships. Another roar of their names from the loudspeaker, and another frantic cheer from the occupants of the stadium, and the two duellists headed out of the stadium.

"That was an awesome tournament," Joey said.

"Yeah!" Koji was beaming and practically skipping as he walked. "That was so much fun! And I wasn't expecting anything, but I got prize money too!"

Joey knew it would be a lot less than what he had won, but he didn't say anything. After all, he had bigger plans for his own money.

"Don't spend it all at once," Joey advised.

"Whatcha gonna spend yours on?" Koji asked, in his innocence not realising that this was a bit of an intrusive question, but Joey didn't mind.

"I'm not spending it," he admitted, and then added upon seeing the confused look on Koji's face, "this money is being saved for my little sister's college fund."

"Really?" Koji asked. "That's good of you. You not like some of the other duellists out there who just want the money for themselves."

And that was what made Joey feel really good about himself. Not knowing that he had won, or that he had come so far in the last two and a half years, but that he was helping someone he loved make their way in the world. He had always told Serenity he would support her in anything, and now he was fulfilling that promise by saving the money so she could go to college.

Joey knew he hadn't been the best person in the world. Three years ago he was downright nasty. But now…he had cleaned up his act, his life was on track, he was Regional Duel Monsters Champion of Japan, his sister had her sight back and thanks to him, she would be able to do something with her life. But even these details didn't compare to how he felt about the people who had got him where he was today.

It was when he got into the competitors meeting room and was swamped by his best friends, hugging him, thumping him on the back and cheering about how they were proud of him, that he knew he was truly lucky.

OOO

* * *

**A/N: **I'm spoiling you all. I don't normally update this quickly especially considering the length of this chapter. However you know your day is going to be crap when you get up early to go filming for your university video project, only to find it's chucking down with rain (we had a storm last night, force eleven winds and all). No surprises, filming has been cancelled and I'm not a happy bunny considering I have nothing else to do today and could still technically be sleeping!

Okay, complaining over.

The Dalek on helium line… right back when I was watching YuGiOh for the first time, and I first heard Time Wizard call its attack, my first thought after that line was…"Time Wizard sounds like a Dalek on helium…" Ahh memories…

I checked all Japanese New Year celebrations with my cousin, who lives in Japan. So it all should be pretty accurate.

Raging Flame Sprite's attack name was invented by Isis the Sphinx (this happens to be her favourite monster!). All credit to her!

This is officially my longest chapter EVER! Totalling 16,523 words and thirty-two pages in MS word (and I write in size ten font). In four years of writing seriously, and fourteen odd years of writing non-seriously, this is the longest chapter I've ever done. I'm bloody proud of myself!

Don't forget to review! I'm really enjoying the feedback I'm getting from you all!


	17. Chapter 17: The Pharaoh and the Thief?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or YuGiOh or Cadbury's Creme Eggs (yummy!). The lyrics for the adaptation of the "Million Green Bottles" song used in this chapter however are mine! All mine!

* * *

**Chapter 17: The Pharaoh and the Thief?**

It was with a feeling of dread that Yugi, Ryou and Malik packed up their suitcases and returned to Hogwarts. Deep down, Yugi had a feeling that leaving their friends alone in a dangerous situation would never get easier no matter how many times they did it. He spent most of the mercifully smooth plane journey sleeping in his soul room. He wound up waking up and talking to Yami about the increasing danger of their situation.

"Now that Voldemort knows about the Items," he had said. "Do you think he will try and take them from us?"

"I shouldn't think so," the Pharaoh had assured him. "Dartz never showed any interest in the Items, believing them to be a weaker brand of magic than the Orichalcos. I imagine that Voldemort feels the same way. We should be careful though. He clearly thinks we're enough of a threat to be eliminated."

"I wonder too" Yugi had trailed off thinking. "How much he knows about the Item's power? If he received his Death Eaters in souls, it's a good bet he knows what the Ring does, and that Ryou's the one who bears it, especially since it was Ryou he targeted with the Orichalcos just before Christmas."

"He did not seem to know about Kaiba's involvement in the past," Yami added. "He knows that Kaiba has magic, but he doesn't know how. That is something at least."

"But he does know about you and Bakura," Yugi stated glumly. "How long before the rest of the wizards find out too?"

This was his primary worry. The once again someone would try and separate him from his other self. The Pharaoh looked thoughtful, but he could not hide the worry crossing his face, especially from Yugi.

"They might," he admitted. "We don't know how possession is looked upon in this world. The wizards may very well have reasons to fear it. We should be careful not to get anyone's attention."

"Yes because we _so_ blend in anyway," Yugi said dryly, and Yami chuckled. It had been at this point that Malik had prodded them both awake to tell them that they were almost at Heathrow.

The snow was still two feet thick when they returned to the castle, deep paths being cut to the front doors by the returning students. Most of the Gryffindor's had already returned. Harry and Ron were waiting for them in the dormitory, reading to exchange details on their Christmas's. Yugi, Ryou and Malik however were reluctant to spill details, particularly when Ron mentioned that they had seen the final match of the Regionals. Ryou kept particularly quiet when Harry and Ron reiterated the events at the Burrow. He did not want to have to think about his own awful Christmas, and his father, who was currently sealed away as a prisoner of the Orichalcos. Fortunately the exchange did not last long, and Malik eventually made the excuse of having to hand in their third year coursework in order to get away from the questions.

Hermione arrived back a few hours later, so consequently, breakfast the next morning consisted of her rounding off her holidays to her friends. The transfers tuned them all out. Not only did they have other more serious matters on their minds, but Yugi and Ryou in particular, were feeling extremely guilty about having to keep so much from them.

"We need to go and speak to Dumbledore," Ryou said eventually. He spoke in Japanese, his voice low and slightly dull. "I want to ask him exactly what happened to my father…and we can ask him about duelling in the school while we're at it."

Yugi and Malik nodded, but did not say anything else. They knew Ryou was putting on a brave face, but inside he was still worrying about his father's fate.

"Are you okay Ryou?" Harry asked, finally tearing himself away from his own two friends to look at the other three. "You look a bit down."

Ryou raised his head with a sigh.

"I'm fine thanks Harry. I just had a bad holiday. I'll see you all in Defence."

And he got up and left the table for Divination.

"What's eating him?" Ron asked. Yugi went back to his food, and Malik excused himself for Ancient Runes. Harry looked down at his own plate. He knew no one would answer Ron's question. However well they all got on, the transfers clearly had some things that they did not want to share. And the more secretive they became, the more difficult Harry found it to trust them.

OOO

The bell for the end of first lesson rang, and the students piled out of the classrooms. Malik and Hermione caught up with Harry, Ron and Yugi in the corridor on their way to the third floor. Hermione immediately began fretting about the amount of homework they had received, which Malik just looked at and snorted in disgust.

"I hate this stuff," he muttered aloud, as they arrived outside the classroom. Ryou was already waiting for them, shuffling his deck and looking thoughtful (a look which he always seemed to wear after Divination). Professor Trelawney clearly still considered him her top student, as she had taken to letting him out of classes early once he had done his predictions. Ryou was glad for this as it meant he did not have to rush down the hundreds of stairs to his next lesson. He smiled as he saw his friends approach the classroom.

"Thought you were good at Ancient Runes?" Ron asked. "Growing up in Egypt and all."

"That doesn't mean I enjoy it," Malik said. The sad fact of the matter was, he had not grown up in Egypt. He had grown up _underneath _it. "I'm good at Ancient Runes because it was drilled into my head from birth, not because I necessarily find it intere…Ow! Watch it Malfoy!"

The Slytherin had walked straight into Malik, sending the blonde flying onto his ass. Sweets, his wand, and his duelling deck burst from his pocket and scattered down the corridor. Malik scowled, but was at least grateful he had managed to keep a hand on the Rod. He scrambled for his wand, before Malfoy could kick it out of arms reach.

"Accio deck!"

The cards flew back into his hands. Malik began counting them over, while his friends rounded on the Slytherin.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Ron asked peevishly. "We're trying to get to class."

"I want to talk to Ishtar," Malfoy said, for once resisting the urge to insult Ron. "He has something of mine and I need it back."

All six Gryffindor's heads snapped up. There was only one thing that could make Malfoy this determined. Ron and Hermione instantly moved to the surrounding students.

"Okay the bell rang a minute ago!" Hermione said to the younger students. "Everyone to class before you all get detention!"

Slowly the younger students began to disperse, but some of the elders were lingering to listen. Malik got to his feet, his belongings back in his pocket, glaring at the shorter blonde.

"What the hell do you want that ring back for?" he asked. "I told you it was evil and you didn't exactly follow me like crazy to get it back last term. So why now?"

Malfoy glared. "It doesn't matter why. I need it back, and you must know where it is."

"Sorry Malfoy," Malik said, though he really did not sound sorry at all. "We don't have it any more."

The Slytherin paled at his words, though only Malik noticed.

"I'm in no mood to play Ishtar, I need that ring back, and you're going to give it to me."

He pulled out his wand and the surrounding students drew back. Only Malik, Bakura, Yami and Harry held their places. Malik glared at him. He wasn't going to tell the boy that the ring was in fact destroyed at present, because that would require a lengthily explanation of the duel and reveal dangerous information on the Orichalcos to the surrounding students. He took a deep breath and tried to keep himself calm.

"Malfoy, we don't have the ring any longer okay?" he said patiently. "Now why don't you just put the wand down…?"

Malfoy however, clearly thought he was being patronised. "I swear Ishtar, if you don't give it back you'll be sorry." A note of desperation entered his voice. "If you don't give it to me, I'll spill your secrets to everyone in this corridor!"

The three Item bearers froze.

"What are you talking about?" Yami demanded, stepping forward slightly. Malfoy smirked, clearly sensing their fear.

"I heard a thing or two about you from my father over the holidays," he said smugly, relishing in the power he felt from having the upper hand. "Something about Shadows…Egyptian Items…oh yes, and a Pharaoh and a thief I believe were mentioned…"

Harry was utterly bewildered. What on Earth was Malfoy talking about? But what happened next shocked him more. Yugi's eyes had widened and he looked horrified. Under his tan, Malik had gone white at Malfoy's words. But the Slytherin never got another word out. The boy whom Harry thought was Ryou leaped forwards, seized Malfoy by the throat and slammed him into the wall. Some of the girls in the corridor screamed. The Gryffindor's eyes were a deadly crimson colour.

"Say anything and you will be very _very _sorry mortal!" he threatened in a deadly whisper. Malfoy's feet were dangling three inches off the floor, and he choked his eyes rolling back as Bakura applied more pressure to his throat.

"Bakura!" Malik warned. "Drop him before Snape gets here and has you in detention!"

Bakura snarled, his sharp canines poised like a vampire ready to strike. Malfoy's skin was beginning to take on a blue tinge as he struggled for air. Bakura released the boy, and he landed in a heap on the floor. Before either Malik or Yugi could approach, Bakura grabbed his bag and stormed off into the classroom. Their classmates scrambled out of his way, clearly afraid of him.

"Merlin…" Ron muttered faintly. Harry swallowed the lump in his throat before looking down at the heap that was Malfoy. He couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for him. To his horror he could already see bruises forming on the blondes pale skin. He had no idea that Ryou had that kind of strength. And his eyes had been venomous looking.

Malik muttered something in, what Harry assumed was Japanese. Yugi replied. Harry was alarmed to see that Yugi's eyes also seemed to have taken on a reddish tinge. What was going on? And what on Earth had Malfoy said that could have shaken them up so badly?

"Snape's coming," Ron warned, and like magic everyone bolted into the classroom. Malfoy got up and hurried in. He tried to look collected, but Harry noticed that he was shaking.

Bakura meanwhile sat at his desk, clenching his fists under the table so hard that his knuckles were turning white. Rage coursed through his veins and he felt shadow magic stirring…begging to be released…to cause pain…His eyes caught sight of the scar on the back of his left hand…his hosts left hand…where he had jammed the offending limb through the spire on Castle Zorc during the Monster World Shadow Game. The scar stood out white against Ryou's pale skin. He tried to relax.

/_Bakura_/ came Ryou's soft voice. He appeared next to his yami in spirit form, trembling slightly from shock, but with a concerned look on his face as he studied the elder. Bakura exhaled slowly as Ryou took his right hand in a timid gesture.

/_Its okay_/ he said soothingly. /_He won't tell. He's too scared to tell_/

"He knows…" Bakura hissed out. "He found out from a Death Eater…his father…Voldemort knows too…"

/_I know_/ Ryou said. /_But I have a funny feeling about Malfoy. I used the Ring to look at his soul at breakfast…_/

/_You did?/_/ Bakura asked switching to the mind link for privacy as the rest of the students started to file in. Most were avoiding looking or going anywhere near him. /_How…?_/

Ryou smiled at him. /_I've watched you. I copied. It took me a while but I did it_/

Bakura felt a surge of pride. He had never bothered to teach Ryou how to use the Ring, so the fact that his hikari had taught himself was remarkable.

/_Anyway_/ Ryou continued. /_I looked at his soul. You said at the beginning of term that it's dark. But when I looked this morning, it seemed to have cleared a little bit. It's like he's…conflicted almost…maybe he's not totally evil_/

Bakura pondered the possibility as Malik sat down next to him. The Egyptian looked troubled, but he smiled slightly as he began to pull out his books.

"Hey…Bakura?" he said unsure of the spirit's temperament. "Pushing aside the fact that our secret is in danger of being blown to the entire school…you scared the living crap out of Malfoy. Nice one!"

But from the glare that the spirit sent him, it was clear that the sentiment was not appreciated.

Snape swept into the classroom, looking as he always did, like a bat who had been dunked in a swelling solution. His eyes scanned the room, narrowing in suspicion. Yugi gulped as he realised what the teacher must have noticed. Everyone was quietly looking at their desks, and occasionally shooting the odd horrified glance at Ryou, who was now back in control of the body. Ryou was looking absently at his book, apparently not brave enough to look up and meet anyone's gaze.

"Before we start, I want your essays," the teacher said eventually, waving his wand. Around twenty scrolls flew through the air and onto his desk, where they arranged themselves into neat little rows. To the casual eye, Yugi appeared to be watching them in bored fascination. In fact his glazed expression was due to the fact he was currently talking to his yami.

/_This looks bad_/ he said. /_Now Malfoy knows, who knows how many other people know_/

/_I don't know Aibou_/ Yami said. /_ I can't think that his father and Voldemort would be willing to trust a sixteen year old with that kind of information. From what Malfoy said out there it seemed like he was just eavesdropping on a conversation involving his father when he heard about us_/

/_True_/ Yugi agreed. /_He seemed really afraid too when Malik told him that we didn't have the ring any more. I wonder why he wants it_/

Hermione, who jabbed him in the side and pointed to the textbook, threw him from the conversation. Snape had told them to read the page on the Imperius Curse and to note down its effects. Yugi sighed. He knew that he, Yami, Ryou, Bakura and Malik were going to have to have a serious talk later. Especially, he realised with a cold surge of dread, now that Harry, Ron and Hermione had heard that conversation. If they had heard Malfoy mention the Pharaoh and the thief, then they would be in serious trouble…

Yugi was about half way down the page when a note landed on his desk. He swept it into his lap as Snape turned around and looked around the room accusingly. He had heard the paper land on a book, but he did not know which one. As he turned away and continued to pace between the desks, Yugi slipped the parchment open and placed it under his notes so that he would not attract attention as he read. He was relieved to see that Malik had the foresight to write in hieroglyphs.

"_King of Games – What does the Pharaoh make of what the Snake said? – Tomb Keeper."_

Yugi slipped the note into his pocket, and felt around for a scrap that he could write a reply on. He looked around at Snape to make sure that the teacher was still occupied, before allowing Yami control so that he could pen the reply.

"_Tomb Keeper – I think the Snake was afraid when we refused to give him the ring. What does the King of Thieves think? – Pharaoh."_

Yugi was back in control quickly, and with another quick glance at their teacher, he palmed the parchment and dropped his hand beside his chair. He heard Malik's whisper of '_accio'_ and the parchment shot out of his grasp. Snape did not seem to hear this time as he rounded the front row of desks and continued along the other side. Yugi gulped as the teacher strode past, and he immediately went back to reading.

No sooner had Snape turned away again, than Yugi felt the reply slam into his hair, and become embedded on one of his spikes. He heard Bakura snorted softly behind him in amusement and he rolled his eyes as he pulled the parchment off.

"_Pharaoh and King of Games –King of Thieves says "Change of Heart used Millennium Ring to read Snake's soul this morning. Snake is just conflicted, not evil" I have a hunch he may be correct. Will talk at break when we aren't in danger of being overheard by Batface. We also need to think of a way to shake off awkward questions from Boy Who Lived and co – Tomb Keeper over and out."_

Yugi was glad that he and Yami were not alone in their assessment of Malfoy. He made to slip the note into his pocket, but before he could it was snatched out of his hands.

"Passing notes Mr Mutou?" Snape sneered, the note held high in his hand. Yugi, out of reflex from years of having his belongings taken from him in this manner by bullies, jumped out of his seat and attempted to grab the note, realising a little too late that he was far too short and only succeeded in looking like a complete moron.

"If you have something to say to Ishtar," Snape continued, sweeping to the front of the classroom, while Yugi sank humiliated in his chair. "I think the whole class should be able to hear it. Accio notes!"

Malik swore aloud as the notes from Yugi and Bakura went flying from the desk. In front of him Yugi jumped as the first note in his pocket soared to the front of the classroom. Snape caught them in his outstretched hands. As the teacher unfolded the first note, Malik took drastic action. He snorted loudly.

"Good luck!"

Snape paused and looked at him curiously.

"I beg your pardon Ishtar?"

Malik leaned back in his seat looking utterly relaxed.

"Go ahead and take the notes. But unless you can read Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs they won't make any sense at all."

Snape frowned and opened the parchment. Sure enough, hieroglyphs stared back at him and he scowled deeper. Whatever his talents in the Dark Arts and Potion making, it seemed that translating ancient languages was not something he did regularly. He recovered quickly however, and swept the notes into the bin.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor," he snapped. "Get back to your work."

Everyone immediately dropped their eyes back to the book, but not before Malik whispered audibly to the whole class, "He's just jealous because he can't read it!"

This earned him a smack around the head from the irate professor.

Next to a relieved looking Yugi, Hermione was frowning.

"_Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs? I knew Malik could read it, but I had no idea that Yugi and Ryou could too. What were they sending to each other that they wanted to keep secret?"_

She frowned down at her notes as she thought about this._ "Harry said he's been worried about the secrets they're keeping from us. They know so much about the Orichalcos…it makes me wonder how they know. I've scoured every book in the library for any information on it, but found nothing. They seem to know much more than they could have learned from one fight against Death Eaters using it. They must have faced it before…or worse; they might have used it before…no! They wouldn't do that! Would they?"_

She trailed off and her eyes landed on the bin. She glanced around at Snape, who was patrolling the desks behind her. Next to her, Yugi was chewing on the end of his quill as he selected which parts of the text to make notes on. Behind her, Ryou and Malik appeared to be working too. She was sure…at least she hoped…they would not notice…

Quickly, she recited the spell in her head and the paper floated from the bin and into her hands faster than the eye could see. She stuffed them into the pockets of her robes and went back to her notes.

If the transfers weren't going to reveal their secrets, then she Harry and Ron would just have to do what they did best…snoop around themselves.

OOO

"Okay Hermione," Ron said. "What's so big that you, of all people, persuaded us not to spend our free period doing homework?"

Hermione gave him a sarcastic looking glare, before fishing the paper out of her pockets. She glanced at the clock. It was third lesson meaning Yugi was at Care of Magical Creatures. Ryou and Malik could be anywhere, but she had last seen them heading to the library with Yugi at break, so she guessed that they had work to do. As long as they were not there though, that was fine.

"What's this?" Ron asked, unfolding one of the pieces of parchment.

"It's the notes the transfers were sending to each other during Defence Against the Dark Arts," Hermione explained, unfolding another. "I summoned them when no one was looking."

"Why?" Harry asked, looking over Ron's shoulder at the unreadable symbols. "They're in Ancient Egyptian, so they make no sense."

"That's why I have them," Hermione said briskly. "I'm going to translate them. I've been thinking about what you said Harry and I agree. They're nice people and everything, but they're definitely hiding something."

"Yeah and from the sounds of it," Ron said. "Malfoy knows about it too. Did you hear what he said earlier that got Ryou so worked up?"

Harry frowned. "It was something like 'Shadows, Items, a Pharaoh and a thief'…I think…"

"Well Pharaoh is Egyptian if I ever heard it," Hermione said, pulling one of her Ancient Runes texts towards her and scouring it. "I know we shouldn't be snooping like this, but they know things about the Orichalcos. And there is definitely something weird about them…"

"Like Malik's back," Ron recalled with a shudder. "I know I was all nosy about it first, but after what he told us on the morning of the Quidditch match…I'm glad he changes behind curtains now."

Harry too could recall Malik's exact words that morning. It had been bad enough when he had just seen them on the train and though that they were injuries of some kind. But after seeing them in detail, and realising that someone had carved a passage of hieroglyphs into his skin, and learning that it had been his own father who had done it…Harry shuddered. He couldn't even imagine how Malik must have felt.

As if by thinking of them they had summoned them, Malik and Ryou appeared through the portrait, Ryou carrying his homework under his arm and shooting a grinning Malik irritated looks. Malik looked excessively cheerful and was singing the most annoying song he knew. Hermione instantly shoved the notes back into her bag as they sat down.

"_A hundred and fifty six Kuribohs sitting on the wall,"_ Malik sang. "_A hundred and fifty six Kuribohs sitting on the wall…"_

"Hey guys," Ron said casually. "Where have you been?"

"_And if one Kuriboh should accidentally fall_," Malik continued apparently unable to get the song out of his head. "_There'd be one hundred and fifty five Kuribohs sitting on the wall."_

Ryou smacked him around the head and he shut up instantly.

"Well I was working, until Genius over here ran into the library demanding sanctuary. Madam Pince threw us out for making too much noise," he turned to look at his friend. "Malik, first off, you can only claim sanctuary in churches, not in libraries!"

"Oh man!" Malik groaned. "Why didn't someone tell me I'd been making an idiot out of myself?!"

Ryou raised an eyebrow, but chose not to comment.

"And secondly," he continued. "You are the most annoying person I have ever met."

"What's annoying about what I was doing?" Malik asked miserably. Ryou rolled his eyes.

"Oh I don't know," he said with sarcasm that more suited his yami rather than himself. "What _is _annoying about following Snape in the corridors and singing until he threatens to put you in detention?"

Malik grinned and began singing the Kuriboh song again. Ron snorted with laughter.

"You're utterly insane Malik," he said bluntly. Malik stood up and bowed at the praise.

"_And if one Kuriboh should accidentally fall…"_

"Malik I swear if you say the word Kuriboh once more I will turn you into one!" Ryou snapped, pulling out his wand. Malik stopped singing and looked thoughtful.

"Hmm…sexy human," he said raising one hand. "Squeaking puffball…" he raised his other and seemed to weight the two against each other. "Sexy human…squeaking puffball…choices…"

Ryou massaged his temples before going back to his homework.

"Hey Ryou," Harry said gently. "Are you alright? I mean…after what happened this morning…with Malfoy and all."

Ryou sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. In truth he was still wound up. "Honestly Harry…I don't know. I think I'm all right. I just…lost my temper with him."

"Meh, you my friend have all the patience of a saint," Malik said fairly, having finally stopped debating whether he'd look better as a cute human or a cute Duel Monster.

"Yeah, everyone loses their rag once in a while," Ron assured him. "And Malfoy isn't exactly easy to deal with. And he was a bit of a git out there."

"What I don't get," Hermione interjected. "Was why he was so upset about that ring now? I mean he lost it months ago. He could have confronted you way before this. So why did he suddenly start demanding it back now?"

Malik looked thoughtful, remembering the confrontation he had had with Malfoy outside the changing rooms just after the Quidditch match.

"Maybe he just wanted an excuse to pick a fight," Ron suggested. Malik shook his head.

"I don't think so Ron," he said. "He looked really panicked when I said we didn't have it anymore. He said he got the ring from his father. I reckon when he went home for Christmas his father found out and threw a hissy fit. Now Malfoy thinks he can make it better by getting it back."

"Now I feel really sorry for hurting him," Ryou muttered.

"It could be…" Harry remarked. "I've met his father and he's a nasty piece of work. What are the odds that Malfoy's just doing all this stuff to look for his father's approval?"

"High," Hermione said. "But sadly, the only one who can tell us that for sure is Malfoy himself."

The statement was left hanging silence, before Harry cleared his throat and tried to change the subject.

"We're going to have a DA meeting tonight," he said. "We might as well get as many of them in as possible before its warm enough to play Quidditch again."

"Okay we won't be late," Malik promised. "Which reminds me Ryou. If we're going to the DA meeting we'd better go see Dumbledore before hand."

"Why are you going to see Dumbledore?" Harry asked curiously. Malik grinned, in gleeful anticipation and announced with dramatic flare.

"We're going to ask him if we can borrow the Quidditch pitch to duel on!"

OOO

Malik of course knew the way to the headmaster's office, having been there once after the Quidditch match the previous term, so it was he who led them towards the stone gargoyle on the third floor. Getting in was even simpler.

"Don't we need a password?" Ryou asked. Malik, who had until just a second ago been pulling a face, trying to mimic the gargoyle, jumped backwards and cleared his throat.

"Cadbury's Creme Egg," he said simply. The gargoyle jumped to one side to allow them up the winding staircase.

"Excuse me?" Yugi asked. Malik shrugged.

"Dumbledore told me at the Quidditch match he's grown rather partial to them."

The three clambered up the stairs and stood before the heavy oak door. Malik banged his fist against it three times, and yelped as he hit too hard and bruised his knuckles.

"Now that's good solid English oak," he muttered. Ryou gently pushed the door open and all three of them entered, Malik still trying to suck the pain out of his damaged knuckles.

Dumbledore was seated behind the high-carved wooden desk, upon which were piled stacks of parchment. The room itself was crammed full of books and other strange looking instruments whose purpose they could only guess. Yugi's jaw dropped as he recognised behind the desk, a phoenix sitting on a golden perch. The bird blinked twice at him before tucking its head under his wing and going to sleep.

The only other occupant of the room was Severus Snape, who watched the group with a look in his eye that caused them all to wonder immediately what they were supposed to have done wrong.

"Sorry Professor," Yugi said. "We didn't realise you were busy."

The headmaster held up a hand to silence the apology.

"It is not a problem Yugi. Professor Snape was just about to leave."

The Professor looked extremely unhappy about being dismissed, but he swept out of his seat regardless. Malik who was furthest to the back of the group, watched him leave. As he reached the door, the head of the Slytherin house turned and fixed his black eyes on Malik. The Egyptian glared back, not feeling intimidated for a second. He was however, alarmed when the teachers' eyes slipped down to his belt, in which was hooked the Millennium Rod. Snape eyed it suspiciously before gliding from the room.

Malik uttered a very low oath, which Yugi and Ryou only just managed to catch. They immediately went on their guard (Malik's language could often be counted upon to alert them to any problems that may arise). Dumbledore smiled at them before gesturing to the chairs before him.

"Please."

Yugi and Ryou sat, but Malik stood, feeling extremely on edge at this moment in time. Plus his fist was still throbbing and he was feeling difficult.

"Judging by the grave looks on your faces, I take it this is not a social call?" Dumbledore summarised.

Yugi and Ryou exchanged looks. Now that they were there they really did not know how to broach the topic of discussion.

"Not exactly," Malik muttered darkly. Dumbledore sighed and lowered his hands, from where they had been resting on his desk, denting his fingers together.

"Maybe I should save us preliminaries then and start by apologising."

Everyone's heads snapped up. That, they had not been expecting. Ryou shook his head.

"It's fine Professor," he said instantly. "It's not your fault."

Yugi and Malik were surprised. Ryou had been so upset about his father that they would have thought he would want someone to blame.

"Ryou it was my protection measures that failed," Dumbledore reminded him. "Not yours."

Ryou shook his head again. "No system is foolproof Professor. We knew that when we accepted our places here. I just wanted to know how it happened, so we can make sure that it doesn't happen again."

Dumbledore inclined his head, but Yugi thought he seemed very relieved that he was being forgiven.

"I am afraid I overlooked a fact when I arranged for your father to be tracked in Egypt," he admitted. "And that is that the tombs have their own hazards."

Behind Ryou, Bakura appeared in spirit form, his interest piqued by the mention of the tombs.

"Your father and his team were exploring a tomb in the Valley of the Kings when one of them triggered a trap," Dumbledore explained. "The aurors who were called to the scene later discovered that the man who set it off was under the Imperius Curse. The trap released a door, cutting your father and one of his colleagues off from the rest of the team."

Behind him, Ryou heard Bakura swear.

"Door release button!" he muttered. "Amateur mistake!"

"And then the Death Eaters apperated in and Sealed them," Malik summarised. "It would have taken them at least five hours to stand any chance of moving that door by force."

Dumbledore inclined his head. "When the door was finally lifted away enough for the rescue team to get inside, the Death Eaters were gone. We of course know what really happened to them after this point, but as far as your father's team are aware they're both in comas…"

"_From a falling rock or a poison needle,"_ Bakura finished in his head, but he did not share these thoughts with his hikari, who was looking upset enough as it was.

"Thank you Professor," he said faintly, before turning his attention to his yami.

/_Yami…_/

/_No problem Ryou_/

A second later, Ryou had retreated to his soul room and Bakura was left sitting in front of the headmaster.

"So what now?" Malik asked. "They've got Ryou's father. Are we just going to wait until they get the rest of our families too?"

There was a challenging note to his voice, and Yugi tensed as Yami took over, clearly ready to restrain the blonde should he lose his temper. Dumbledore gave him a long look.

"Malik, as Ryou has just correctly pointed out, no security is foolproof. I did warn you all that there would come a time when I may not be able to protect your families any longer. I am deeply sorry that I have failed, but I cannot promise that I shall not fail again."

Malik's shoulders sagged under the Professors words. He knew that blaming the Professor for the danger was neither fair nor true, but it was hard to accept that they might open their mail and find the faces of their families staring back out at them from behind that dreaded six-pointed star.

"_I lost them once,_" he thought to himself. _"I won't lose them again!_"

"As I assured you in August, you are free to leave the school and return home at any time," Dumbledore reminded them. "I ask only that you realise, the dangers will not go away."

"He's right Malik," Yami said. Malik glared at him, clearly angry with the Pharaoh for taking Dumbledore's side. Yami quickly retreated and Yugi was left looking at him with a pleading face. Yami stood by his side in spirit form. Yugi's eyes teared up slightly.

"We can't leave all these people," he said. "We're the only ones who stand a chance against the Orichalcos."

Maybe it was Yugi's words, or maybe it was the fact that no one could resist the large amethyst eyes, but Malik's shoulder dropped in defeat and he folded his arms, retreating into a bad mood.

"If I see the slightest hint of Ishizu or Odion in trouble," he said in a low voice. "I'm taking the next flight back to Japan."

And without another word he turned and left the room. Bakura sighed as the mane of blonde hair vanished through the door.

"Sorry about him," Yugi said quickly. The headmaster waved his hand.

"He has every right to be concerned," he said. "And every right to be angry at me…"

"This is not your fault," Yugi said fiercely. "Professor you did not fail any of us. You've protected our families to the best of your abilities, and that is all we can ask. You haven't failed. You don't fail until you've given up."

Yami spoke the last line too, who was still standing next to his partner spiritually. Dumbledore's tired blue eyes wandered over the young man sitting in the chair before him.

"I assure you Yugi, this old man has not given up just yet. I have the up most faith in all of you."

The way he said '_all of you_' caused Bakura's eyebrows to arch, and he shot the spirit of the Pharaoh a quick glance. Now, he decided might be a good time for an exit. But there was one more matter that he wanted to get out of the way.

"Before we leave Professor," he said, keeping Ryou's sweet, gentle voice so as not to arise any suspicion. "The three of us were wondering if we could use the Quidditch Pitch occasionally to play Duel Monsters. We'll need to practise if we are to last against the Death Eaters."

Dumbledore inclined his head. "I believe my students would protest immensely if I were to stop you all. I think that will be fine as long as the pitch is not being used for Quidditch practises. I have to say you appear to have started something of a trend among the younger students."

Yami smirked. Fresh talent definitely sounded good to him.

"Now unless I am very much mistaken," the headmaster said. "The DA meeting for the evening starts in five minutes, so I would urge you to hurry along if you do not wish to be late."

Yugi let out a small 'eek' of surprise before jumping out the chair. He shouted a quick 'thank you' over his shoulder as he went. Bakura followed at a more leisurely pace with Yami right behind him. As stepped over the threshold, the Pharaoh turned his head to take one last look at the headmaster. As the door swung shut behind him, Dumbledore raised his head and his eyes locked with Yami's crimson ones.

The oak slammed closed and the headmaster sighed.

"Thank you Pharaoh," he muttered. "You and Yugi reminded me of something very important tonight."

OOO

"I think," Malik said as soon as they had descended the staircase. "That our dear friend Professor Snape, knows about the Items."

Ryou, back in control of his body now that they had left the office, jumped at the sudden statement. Yugi regarded his friend with a stunned expression, and Yami appeared behind him, his brow furrowed in thought.

"How do you know?" he asked. Malik sighed and pulled the Rod out of the back of his robes.

"As he left I saw his eyes wander to the Millennium Rod," he said. "He was looking at it suspiciously. I've seen that look before and it usually means that Snape knows something that isn't going to be good for us."

"But how could he know?" Yugi asked. "He can't have seen them, he doesn't have an Item. Unless he has a connection to the past…or he's a Death Eater…"

"He's enough of a git to be one," Malik snorted. "But the way he looked at me…felt like he knew what I was thinking…"

As if to answer this statement, the words Harry had spoken the previous term floated into Ryou's ears.

"_I had Occlumency lessons with Snape last year…"_

"Of course…" Ryou muttered. "Malik you're a genius!"

"I am?" the Tomb Keeper asked stupidly. "That's not what you were saying this morning."

Ryou did not answer, instead he rambled through his thoughts.

"Snape can do Occlumency! Harry said so himself! That's why Bakura and I can't read his mind with the Millennium Eye! And I'll bet he can sense our yami's inside our heads too even if he doesn't realise who they are!"

Yugi, Yami and Malik all blinked stupidly for a few seconds. Then Yami rounded on Bakura.

"You have the Eye? Since when?!"

Bakura groaned aloud.

/_Thanks Ryou. We managed almost a year without disclosing that information_/

/_I'm sorry yami…_/

The thief sighed before replying.

"Yes okay, we have the Eye. I swiped it from Pegasus at the end of Duellist Kingdom."

"And you never thought fit to inform the rest of us?!" the Pharaoh yelled. Bakura rolled his eyes.

"If had told you you would never have let me keep it," he snapped.

"Where is it?" Yami demanded, his eyes blazing. Bakura rolled his own.

"Upstairs in Ryou's trunk."

This took Yami by surprise.

"You mean…you don't have it on you right now?"

It seemed a little unusual that Bakura, who's profession in life had been a thief for the past five thousand years, would leave one of his treasures upstairs completely unguarded. Bakura nodded.

"Yes, it makes Ryou nervous so I said he could leave it if he wants to."

Ryou blushed in embarrassment, but considering he had just blowing one of his yami's secrets to the world, he supposed he deserved it.

"Have no fear Pharaoh," Bakura said. "It's locked up nice and tight in the bottom of Ryou's trunk in the box he keeps his spare cards in. No one is going to steal from the King of Thieves."

Yami rolled his eyes, privately thinking that Bakura's arrogance was going to kill him (again) one day, but he seemed satisfied. Malik was regarding Ryou with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" the albino asked

"You're scared of the Millennium Eye?" the Egyptian asked. "Why?"

Ryou gave him a look. "Would _you_ be eager to touch something that used to live in Pegasus's eye socket?"

Malik winced at the thought, and Bakura picked up the train of conversation.

"As Ryou and I were saying, if it was not for the Eye we would not know so much about the people in this castle."

Yugi and Yami looked curious, while Malik shot the thief a questioning look.

"Like what?"

"Well if you must know…" Bakura said. "The first time we met Dumbledore I tried to sense his intentions. All the Eye showed me was the equivalent to a mental brick wall. I know now that Dumbledore must be able to do Occlumency. When we had our first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, Snape was the same."

"So they can read our minds?" Malik said in a voice of dread.

"It's a bit more subtle than that," Bakura informed him. "It's more like sorting through images until you find the one you are looking for. Dumbledore and Snape could probably most definitely tell if we were lying to him, and I'm willing to bet that they can sense the mental conversations we've been having with each other."

Yugi and Yami shot each other horrified looks.

"So we've been busted," Malik muttered. "After four months of keeping it quiet, someone finally knows."

"You don't think he'll…try and take them away or something?" Yugi asked anxiously, gripping the Millennium Puzzle as though worried someone would pop up and demand he hand it over. "We don't know how they treat spirits here."

"I think if he were," Yami said. "Then he would have done something or said something up in his office just now. I'm sure I saw him look at me as we left the office."

"Do you think he knows about the Item's powers?" Yugi asked his darker half.

"Personally," Ryou said slowly. "If I were Dumbledore and I knew about the Shadow Games and the power that the Items possessed, then I would have interrogated us while we were sitting there a minute ago. I don't think he knows…or if he does he's trusting us not to use them to endanger the students…"

He trailed off, leaving everyone in thought.

"What do you guys think?" Malik asked. "I'm not happy he knows. The more he knows, the more likely others are to find out. And we need to be able to use our powers if we want to stop Voldemort and the Orichalcos."

"I think we can trust Dumbledore with this information," Yami said. "I'm not happy about it either. I felt much better when he knew nothing of the Items save for that we could call monsters with them. For now I think we should just leave him be."

Bakura snorted, but he offered no further argument, so everyone assumed that he agreed with this decision.

"What about Snape?" the Tomb Robber eventually asked.

"What about Snape?" Malik shrugged back. Bakura rolled his eyes.

"We might be willing to trust Dumbledore with this information, but Snape is an evil git who won't hesitate to use it against us."

"Could you erase his memory?" Yugi asked. Bakura shook his head.

"Nice idea Yugi, but his Occlumency will prevent me from doing that. Even if I could, it would be pointless now that Dumbledore knows. He would probably suspect it was us, and then he really would have to do something about the Items and their power."

"I agree," Yami said. "The less attention we draw to ourselves the better. We should just leave it be and see how Snape behaves…and as for now, we are ten minutes late for the DA meeting…"

Malik swore loudly, and all three transfers took off down the hall towards the staircase.

OOO

"Any sign of them mate?" Ron asked, ducking as Hermione attempted to jinx him. Harry shook his head, scanning the Room of Requirement for the millionth time. It was very unlike Yugi, Ryou and Malik to be late and he was very worried.

"You don't think Malfoy caught up with them or something?" he asked. Hermione, who seemed to have realised that Ron was not giving her his full attention, came to join in the conversation.

"Could be," Ron shrugged. "He did seem a bit wound up this morning."

Harry thought for a moment, before hurrying to the side of his room and picking up his bag. He rummaged between the notes and books he had bought in case someone could not unjinx themselves, and pulled out a worn looking piece of parchment. Checking that no one was watching, he tapped it with his wand.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Green ink began to blossom on the page, forming spindly lines, linking together to create a map of the castle. Dots were moving here and there between the common rooms and the library. Harry frowned closely, before remembering what Malik had said that morning. He quickly found the third floor and located Dumbledore's office. Only the headmaster was visible there at the moment. But further down the corridor, the names 'Yugi Mutou', 'Ryou Bakura' and 'Malik Ishtar' were in plain sight.

But they were not alone…

"Ron," Harry turned to find his friends, who had gone back to practising while he searched. The red head looked over.

"What?"

"Come here and tell me whether I'm hallucinating or not," Harry said. Frowning in puzzlement, Ron approached and looked over Harry's shoulder at the map.

"You found them? On the third flo…what? Is this thing right?"

"Dunno," Harry shrugged. "But look closely at the names? Look familiar?"

Ron's eyes opened wide and he turned to the now irate Hermione.

"Hey Hermione, you might want to have a look at this," he said. Hermione craned her neck over Harry's shoulder.

"Did you find them?" she asked, struggling to see over the two boys. Ron moved aside and she took his place.

"Yeah, that's not all I found though," Harry said, pointing. Hermione's eyes widened.

For there, in tiny black writing, were two more dots next to Yugi, Ryou and Malik. The first named 'Nameless Pharaoh' and the second 'Thief King Bakura'.

"Correct me if you will," Ron said. "But I don't think we have any students by those names."

"It's just like Malfoy said this morning," Harry said. "He said something about a Pharaoh and a thief. Something that he didn't think they wanted everyone else to know…"

They all blinked as the dots representing their three friends, began to move at a fast pace along the corridor. The two extra dots however…

"They vanished!" Hermione gasped. "How…its impossible…I don't see them anywhere else on the map…"

The other floors were quickly searched, Harry keeping one eye on Yugi, Ryou and Malik as they went, but nowhere could they find the Nameless Pharaoh or the Thief King Bakura.

"Maybe they disapperated," Ron suggested. "Oh yeah…sorry Hermione," he added looking sheepishly at Hermione, who had opened her mouth to remind him for the umpteenth time that you could not disapperate inside the Hogwarts grounds.

"Maybe they used a portkey," Harry suggested, trying to think of a plausible situation for two people disappearing off the map.

"They can't have," Hermione said. "It's too dangerous to portkey anywhere now. Death Eaters keep intercepting them. Besides Dumbledore is supposed to know about all portkey's going in and out of the castle."

"Maybe that's why they were at his office," Ron pointed out. But Harry's eyes suddenly snapped to the seventh floor, where Yugi, Ryou and Malik were approaching the Room of Requirement.

"They're back," he pointed, and sure enough, the two extra dots had reappeared alongside the transfers. "But they…no they've all gone this time. They must be coming in to the room."

All three of them looked up to see Yugi, Ryou and Malik enter the room, but no sign of anyone else. All three transfers were flushed and out of breath.

"Sorry…we're late…" Yugi panted, as they made their way around the duelling couples and over to the three stunned Gryffindors. "Our meeting with Dumbledore overran…are you three alright?"

He had just noticed the stunned looks on their faces. Harry was the first to snap back, stuffing the map out of sight in his bag.

"Its fine guys," he assured them. "You didn't miss much…"

But Harry was sure, as the transfers split up and began to practise, that there was plenty that he and his friends were still missing.

* * *

**A/N: **My God that ending was crappy!

I'm ripping my hair out because I realised for the last few chapters that the double / for the yami's speaking hasn't shown up! And it isn't saving properly here! So I have no idea what I'm going to do about that. When I think of something I'll go back and change the chapters.

I apologise for the wait! Ever since I got back home I've been working around the clock. I actually haven't finished chapter 18, so I don't know how long that's going to be either. Rest assured though I will get it done!

Review and I'll give you cheap Easter eggs that I got from the stores that overstocked them!

**Beta note:**

Isis: I can't believe that you used Malik as a danger detector…

Mei: Well I don't think I've given him enough screentime lately...

Isis: (shrugs) Yea, you have been concerntrating on the albinos and pharaonic twins.

Mei: But they so pretty!

Isis: (sighs and shakes her head)


	18. Chapter 18: Welcome to Dark Sanctuary

**Disclaimer: **Do I own YuGiOh or Harry Potter? No I do not.

* * *

**Chapter 18: Welcome to Dark Sanctuary**

"I'm going to beat you this time."

"Like hell!"

Bakura scowled and flicked scrambled egg at Yami. The Pharaoh scowled back at the childish retaliation and went back to his own breakfast. Across the table, Malik beamed stupidly at the pair of them.

"Okay so since you two have claimed first dibs at each other," he said. "I guess that leaves me to be the referee."

"You know," Harry said conversationally. "The only reason my Uncle watches the football on television is so he can swear at the referees."

"Yes but unlike football," Malik explained patiently. "Very few people here actually know the rules to this game. So they can't shout at me for making stupid comments or decisions, because they don't know any better!"

"Football?" Ron frowned. "You mean that weird muggle game where the players kick the ball to each other? The one that Dean's in to?"

"That's the one," Malik nodded, having seen Dean's impressive display of West Ham football team posters on the wall of the dormitory.

At their plates, Yami and Bakura exchanged warm up glares, in preparation for the duel that morning. As they had informed Dumbledore the previous week, they were planning to practise duelling in the Quidditch pitch. Now that the snow had finally melted, they had not wasted any time in booking it first thing on Saturday morning. Rather than cause irritation among the players however, when they had discovered what it was in aid of, most of the teams had asked if they could watch. Word had spread pretty fast, and much to the dismay of the Item bearers, most of the school would now be attending.

"You did promise," Neville had pointed out helpfully one evening after questioning them about it. "Ryou said during the start of term feast, as soon as you got the duel disks working you'd show us a real game."

No could argue with their roommate on that note, and so both Yami and Bakura had resigned themselves to the fact that there would be an audience, and Malik had happily resigned himself to the fact that there would be a lot of clueless people in the audience who would not have any idea what was going on. And so he had taken it upon himself to commentate the match.

"How long does the average match last for?" Harry asked curiously. "Only, the Gryffindor team have booked the pitch for the afternoon…"

"I would not worry Harry," Yami said dismissively. "I'll do my best to rid the field of Bakura before lunchtime."

Bakura scowled again. "All right your highness," he spat. He had taken to calling Yami by this title, though fortunately to everyone who did not know him, it sounded as though he was merely mocking Yugi's status as the King of Games. "I was going to go nicely on your sorry backside, but forget it. For the rest of the morning, my fiends and spirits are going to rip you in two!"

Their voices had grown, so that by now half the Gryffindor table was listening to them. Malik swiftly and loudly stepped in.

"Now now gentlemen! Save the trash talking for the pitch!"

This only seemed to make the surrounding students more eager to listen. The two duellists backed off, but continued to glare at each other.

"Stupid Pharaoh," Bakura muttered in Egyptian.

"Delusional Tomb Robber," Yami shot back. Malik raised his hands to separate the two.

"The pitch!" he reminded. "Please!"

Across the table from Malik, Hermione frowned and her mind began ticking over the unfamiliar words.

"_I know I've heard that word before…"_ she thought, puzzling over the strange sounding language, before her mind hit on an answer. "_It's Egyptian! It means Pharaoh! They're speaking Ancient Egyptian! Why didn't I think of this before? If they can write in hieroglyphs then it makes sense that they can all speak the language!"_

True to her investigation, Hermione had been rigorously translating the notes. She had translated most of the ones in Malik's handwriting, and was about half way through the two from Bakura. The results were interesting…to say the least.

Across the table, Harry was having similar thoughts as he sipped his pumpkin juice. Hermione's translations had at least turned up a few answers. They had been speaking mostly in code, referring to Malfoy as 'the Snake' and Snape as 'Batface' (which Ron had laughed himself silly over). King of Games was obviously Yugi. Change of Heart had had them all mystified, until Harry had remembered that it was the name of one of Ryou's favourite cards. The name 'Tomb Keeper' had puzzled them all too, but from the style of writing and the senders and recipients of the notes, it could only be Malik. Ron had then pointed out of course, that Malik was Egyptian, and so presumably it was some sort of tribute to his home country. There also appeared to be two other people involved in the conversations. The elusive King of Thieves, and the Pharaoh.

"_So Yugi, Ryou and Malik know a Pharaoh and a thief," _Harry summarised mentally. "_But who are these people? Why haven't we ever seen them? How do they disappear and reappear on and off the map? And why is it that sometimes when I'm looking at the map and the five of them are in the room, the thief and the Pharaoh cannot be seen?_"

To aid the investigation, Harry had taken to studying the Marauders Map from behind a book whenever the transfer students were in the room. To his alarm and disappointment however, he had discovered that the two missing people were invisible to the eye. Either the map was malfunctioning, or these people were wearing Invisibility Cloaks all the time.

Harry was pulled out of his train of thought by the post owls arriving. His stomach immediately sunk to his knees as he noticed that there were more owls than normal, and most of them were carrying pink letters.

That's right. With all the excitement of the upcoming duel, everyone had forgotten that it was Valentines Day!

…Everyone except the fangirls it seemed.

Of all the owls that entered the hall, about half of them flew over to the Gryffindor table, and began dumping stacks of mail onto the table in front of the three cringing transfers.

"This happened last year too…" Yugi muttered, for Yami had fled at the first sight of the pink coloured envelopes. "I should have known we wouldn't escape this time…"

"You got this last year?" Malik asked, for he hadn't been as famous for as long as Yugi had, and had never experienced Valentines Day as a celebrity.

"They're very…persistent aren't they?" Ryou said, in the calmest and most polite voice he could manage. Like Yami, Bakura had also retreated upon seeing the incomings, and was now sitting in his soul room moaning at how he had been scarred for life at the sight of so much pink.

"Are you going to open them?" Ron asked, with a touch of envy at the sight of the hundreds of letters in front of the transfers.

"Are you mad?!" Malik asked. "Half of these are from people in this school, and unlike our muggle fangirls, these ones are capable of spells and potions that could make us fall in love with them! These things are too _dangerous_ to open!"

"He has a point," Harry said fairly.

"People are so immature…" Hermione muttered, settling herself behind a book.

"Let's vanish them," Yugi suggested. "But leave the ones that are from Domino. If it's a letter from our friends I'll be able to tell. I can recognise their handwriting."

With their friend's help, it didn't take long before the letters were gone, save for one which was not pink and which Yugi had recognised as being from Tea. Yugi went bright red as Ron rather bluntly asked if Tea was his girlfriend. Malik had burst out laughing at the sight of Yugi's face, while Ryou explained on behalf of his stuttering friend, that Tea was a friend of theirs.

"…She says everyone is fine," Yugi reported, scanning through the letter, a noticeable pinch of colour still in his cheeks. "Serenity came for another visit…Tristan is still hung up on her apparently. Joey's been watching the European Championships obsessively for, I quote "_a certain blonde female duellist we all know he has it bad for_"…"

"He _does_ have it bad for her," Malik said, snorting in his pumpkin juice.

"I'll bet we've got stacks of Valentines waiting at home too," Ryou said with a groan. "What a homecoming that will be."

"I think Grandpa knows to burn my fan mail," Yugi said, hoping desperately that his Grandpa _was_ burning his fan mail before it filled the house to bursting point!

"We'll if that's all the mail dealt with," Malik said briskly. "Maybe we should head out to the pitch gentlemen? I don't know about you, but I'm dying for some action!"

It was only as they waited in the Common Room for Yugi to finish using the bathroom, that Ryou realised something.

"I'm surprised Tea didn't mention anything about Death Eaters, or what Kaiba might have found out since we've been gone," he said thoughtfully.

"Ooh I doubt Yugi told us everything in that letter," Malik snickered. "After all, I noticed Tea only addressed it to Yugi and not the rest of us. And it is Valentines Day today after all…"

OOO

"Welcome Ladies, Gentlemen, Teachers and Slytherins of all ages to the first of what will hopefully be many public duels here at Hogwarts School!" Malik announced to an over enthusiastic crowd, his voice magically magnified to fill the pitch. "I Malik Ishtar shall be your commentator through what promises to be a spellbinding and phenomenal event…and after I'm done you can see these two duel!"

There was a round of chuckles from the stands, which were interrupted immediately.

"Will you get on with it Malik?!" Yami yelled, his own voice magically magnified so that the people in the stands could hear his commands. He was dressed in his well loved and well-worn black leather trousers and black sleeveless vest complete with the usual buckles, belts, and blue jacket.

"Yeah Ishtar!" Bakura replied, equally as peeved. "It's freezing out here! The sooner we duel, the warmer we get!" The white haired thief was dressed in his own duelling outfit, of dark jeans, white and blue stripped t-shirt, but for extra warmth and look of menace, he had thrown his long black trench coat over the top, which was now billowing about noisily in the wind.

"Okay, you heard the duellists folks, they're eager to get going!" Malik said. "So let's get this show on the road!"

There was a cheer from the crowd, who whilst slightly smaller than the average mob of Quidditch fans, was still a force to be reckoned with. Even a few of the teachers, including Dumbledore had shown up to watch.

"Now gentlemen you know the terms," Malik said, flicking his wand and allowing his voice to return to normal volume so no one else could hear. "We are playing from eight thousand life points, standard rules apply. Ryou no," he spoke the next words in Japanese just in case anyone was listening. "Shadow Games. Yugi," he turned to the other, now speaking English again. "Show me the God cards and your Legendary Dragon so I know they aren't in your deck."

"As you wish," the Pharaoh said, pulling the four cards out of his pocket and showing them to Malik, who nodded in satisfaction before waving his wand and turning up the volume on his voice.

"Very well then gentlemen, start your duel disks!"

Both the magically enforced machines whirred into life, and the trays slotted into position. Malik waved his wand over his head and huge magical ribbons twisted above the heads of both duellists, forming a readout of their life points for the benefit of the audience. Yami narrowed his eyes at Bakura, who smirked back.

"Let's duel!" both of them shouted.

**Life Points**

Yugi/Yami: 8000

Ryou/Bakura: 8000

The first move was Bakura's. The thief drew his sixth card, thought for a minute, before selecting two cards from his hand.

"Ready to lose Yugi?" he taunted.

"Please," Yami snorted. "I never lose to you."

Bakura frowned, and plugged the first of his cards in.

"I place this facedown, and summon Doomcaliber Knight in attack mode (1900/1800)!"

As the holographic card appeared, a black skeletal horse with a knight in black skeletal armour appeared in front of it. The horse cried out, causing several of the audience members who had never seen duels before to jump in surprise. Even Harry, Ron and Hermione, who had seen a duel with holograms before, were impressed by the realism.

/_That's a new one_/ Yugi said to Yami. The Pharaoh mentally nodded, narrowing his eyes. What else had Bakura done to his deck since the last time they had faced him?

/_He must have been saving his new cards for this. We'd best be careful_/ Yami agreed, as Bakura waved a hand to end his turn. The Pharaoh drew and smirked.

/_On the other hand…_/ Yugi amended, and Yami chuckled.

"I play Polymerization!" the Pharaoh barked. Above his head appeared his two monsters, one a vicious looking horned beast, the other a red skinned demon with huge white wings.

"I fuse Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts, and Berfomet, in order to summon Chimera, the Flying Mythical Beast (2100/1800)!"

Both monsters were engulfed in a bright light, and from it emerged the four-legged muscular beast. It's two heads gave identical snarls as it observed Bakura and his Doomcaliber Knight.

/_Damn, the Pharaoh hasn't slacked at all since we last had a proper duel_/ Bakura thought.

/_Last time you didn't have me_/ Ryou said confidently. /_This isn't just your deck Bakura. This is _our _deck. And we've got plenty of surprises for Yugi and Yami_/

Bakura smirked mentally, being careful to keep his face neutral for the purpose of the duel.

/_Bakura's a tricky opponent_/ Yami mused. /_No doubt that facedown card can stop my attack_/

/_But then again_/ Yugi said. /_Better we get him to use it up now, than have him use it against us later_/

Yami mentally agreed.

"Attack his Doomcaliber Knight!"

The beast roared and pounced toward the flailing knight. Bakura just smirked and calmly hit the button on his duel disk.

"My apologies Yugi but I'm cutting your monster down to size."

As he spoke his facedown card lifted to reveal Rush Recklessly. At the same time, Doomcaliber Knight's attack shot up dramatically (2600/1800).

"Now my knight, counterattack!" Bakura ordered. Chimera roared as the Knight charged at it and cut the beast rather ruthlessly down to size with its jagged sword. Yami scowled a little as the ribbons above his head changed to indicate his life points decreasing. There were a few groans of disgust from the audience as the display of violence coming from the monsters.

**Life Points**

Yugi/Yami: 7500

Ryou/Bakura: 8000

/_They think this is bad?_/ Yami though in wonder.

/_I suppose_/ Yugi said. /_Remember, these aren't the hardcore fans at tournaments that have seen this happen a million times before_/

/_Point taken_/ Yami agreed, taking his fusion monster and reaching for his discard slot.

"When Chimera is destroyed I can take either one of the monsters I fused and special summon it to the field. I chose Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200)!"

The aforementioned beast, which looked like a smaller version of Chimera, only without the wings and without the second head appeared, sitting in defence mode. However Bakura's Knight suddenly threw its sword at the monster and both the beast and the knight vanished.

"I thought you might do that," Bakura said smugly. "You see whenever a monsters effect is activated I have to tribute my Knight, and in exchange your monsters effect is negated and the card destroyed. So no Gazelle for you I'm afraid."

Yami looked a little annoyed, before selecting another card and plugging it facedown. "With another card facedown I end my turn."

"And so Bakura draws the first blood!" Malik announced, causing both duellists to jump – they had completely forgotten his presence. "And he's now wide open to a direct attack!"

/_His cheering is going to get on my nerves_/ Bakura thought as he drew.

/_Just ignore him_/ Ryou coached. /_We have an advantage now. We should be thinking about how to exploit it_/

Bakura mentally nodded and selected one of the five cards in his hand.

"I summon Sangan in attack mode!" the thief announced, placing the card on the wing of his disk and causing the small three-eyed fiend to appear (1000/600). Yami raised an eyebrow.

/_Interesting_/ the Pharaoh thought. /_He knows I have plenty of monsters that can defeat Sangan. He must want to use its effect for something…_/

/_He might think it's worth the risk_/ Yugi pointed out. /_Especially since if he gets Dark Sanctuary on the field he will have a way of regaining any life points he may have lost_/

/_But looking at Bakura's new cards_/ Yami said. /_He could have an entirely different strategy…_/

"Sangan attack directly!" Bakura ordered. The fiend leaped for Yami, who flinched a little as his chest was slashed at with sharp little claws.

**Life Points**

Yugi/Yami: 6500

Ryou/Bakura: 8000

/_Forgot this would be a little more real than duelling with regular holograms_/ Yami lamented, quickly controlling the shock on his face.

Bakura chuckled and plugged two cards into his disk.

"I set two cards facedown and end my turn."

Yami drew and looked a little relieved.

"I play Pot of Greed, allowing me to…"

"Draw two more cards from your deck," Bakura interrupted in a bored voice. "I'm not stupid you know."

"That was meant for the benefit of the audience, not you Bakura," Yami replied, as the green and blue jar appeared on the field, grinning sinisterly before exploding. Yami pulled two more cards and immediately set one in a monster card zone.

"Since I drew it by card effect, I can special summon Watapon to the field!"

Before him appeared what seemed to be a tiny pink ball of fluff, with antenna protruding from its head. Its wide blue eyes stared out at the field, and several audience members (mostly female) began to squeal.

/_Girls are weird_/ Ryou stated.

/_No joke_/ Bakura agreed, remembering the stack of valentines that had arrived at breakfast.

"Now I sacrifice Watapon to summon Dark Magician Girl!"

The pink fairy gave a pop and exploded into hundreds of pink hearts, from which emerged the buxom blonde sorceress (2000/1700). This time it was the male audience members turn to react, as catcalls were thrown from all sides of the stadium. Dark Magician Girl giggled and blew a kiss to a few random whistling young men in the crowd.

/_On second thoughts, I guess guys can be just as bad as girls_/ Ryou pointed out. Bakura had no answer to that.

"Dark Magician Girl, attack Sangan with Dark Burning Attack!" Yami commanded. The magician nodded and raised her wand, blasting a ball of dark magic at the fiend, who disintegrated on the spot.

**Life Points**

Yugi/Yami: 6500

Ryou/Bakura: 7000

"Sangan's effect lets me transfer a monster with fifteen hundred attack points or less to my hand," Bakura announced. "I choose…meh, my Headless Knight will do."

He added the selected card to his hand, but Yami was listening to Yugi.

/_He didn't sound too bothered about what monster he picked_/ Yugi was saying. /_I don't think he's planning on keep his Headless Knight around for very long_/

/_I agree_/ Yami said. /_I wonder what he's planning…_/

"I set a card facedown and end my turn," the Pharaoh announced.

Bakura drew and studied his hand with a smirk on his face.

/_Excellent_/ he thought. /_With these cards and what I have on the field, defeating the Pharaoh will take no time at all…not to mention it will give these wizards something to really scream about_/

"First I shall activate my facedown card," Bakura pointed at the card on the left, which flipped up to reveal Ultimate Offering. "Now at the cost of five hundred life points I can have an extra normal summon for this turn."

Yami nodded. He had seen Bakura do this before in some of their tabletop duels. It made it easier for Bakura to keep monsters on the field for Dark Sanctuary.

"I shall set this monster facedown," Bakura announced, throwing another card onto the field, "and then I shall play something you inspired me to add to my deck Yugi…Card Destruction!"

Yami and Yugi gasped as the familiar spell appeared on Bakura's side of the field. Smirking, Bakura dropped three cards into his graveyard, while Yami discarded just the one. They then drew again.

"When did you put that in your deck?" Yami demanded.

"Just after New Year," Bakura said. "It replaced Multiple Destruction, as it's far more useful and I don't have to pay life points for it."

/_Now Bakura has three fiends in his graveyard_/ Yugi thought. /_This can only mean one thing_/

/_Dark Necrofear_/ Yami agreed.

"You seem to know what is coming Yugi," Bakura smirked. "So I won't waste time! I remove Headless Knight, Doomcaliber Knight and Sangan from my graveyard to special summon the mighty, Dark Necrofear!"

Behind the thief, ghostly images of the three monsters appeared as their cards slid out of Bakura's graveyard and he pocketed them in his trench coat. As he did, a white spectral form appeared on the field, solidifying into the demonic looking woman, with blue skin and purple armour. She cradled the wooden doll in her arms lovingly. A shiver of fear seemed to radiate around the stadium. This creature emanated creepiness and suffering (2200/2800).

"Strike down his Dark Magician Girl!" Bakura cried out. "Doomed to Death Gaze!"

The fiend nodded, and narrowed her eyes at the terrified Dark Magician Girl. A beam of energy struck her in the chest and she screamed as she was destroyed.

**Life Points**

Yugi/Yami: 6300

Ryou/Bakura: 7000

"I activate my trap card!" Yami announced. "Soul Rope! Now I can pay a thousand Life Points to special summon a monster from my deck…I choose Obnoxious Celtic Guardian!"

**Life Points**

Yugi/Yami: 5300

Ryou/Bakura: 7000

As he spoke, the elf warrior appeared, kneeling in defence mode (1400/1200). Bakura growled.

"Damn…and I can't destroy that elf with a monster that has more than nineteen hundred attack points…"

"That is indeed correct," Yami said. Now it was his turn to smirk.

"What a move!" Malik said enthusiastically. "While Bakura has the strongest monster, Yugi has managed to put up a wall!"

/_And just as I get into my evil moment, Malik's voice ruins it for me…_/ Bakura lamented.

"End turn." The thief announced.

Yami drew and looked over the two cards in his hand and fought back a frown.

/_Nothing that can beat Dark Necrofear_/ Yugi said. /_And even if we could beat her, things would just get harder for us_/

/_On the other hand though, she is a powerful monster and leaving her on the field is dangerous_/ Yami pointed out. /_We've beaten Dark Sanctuary before and I know we can beat it again_._ But you're right; we don't have anything to beat Dark Necrofear. We have Obnoxious Celtic Guardian and a facedown card. Those should protect us for now_/

"I pass this turn," Yami announced. Bakura smirked for what appeared to be the millionth time that day.

"Giving up so soon?" he asked, drawing and slotting the card into a spell and trap card zone.

"You wish Bakura," Yami snorted. Bakura just shrugged and continued.

"I set a card facedown and flip summon A Cat of Ill Omen."

The monster he had set before playing Card Destruction flipped up to reveal a plump black cat with an ornamental necklace around its neck (500/300).

"That's not a fiend!" Yami started suddenly.

"When did I say I ran a fiend deck?" Bakura demanded. "If you recall, my deck is an occult deck. And cats have deep roots in the occult."

At his words, the Cat of Ill Omen purred and rubbed itself against Bakura's legs fondly.

"It was common superstition in England centuries ago," Bakura continued, "that black cats brought bad luck. But followers of the occult know better. This cat is definitely good luck for me, because he lets me select a trap in my deck and place it on the top…I choose a card I think you will be very familiar with…Destiny Board!"

A card slid out of his disk and he placed it on the top with a smug look on his face. Yami drew a sharp breath.

/_He's setting up for when Dark Sanctuary is on the field_/

"Now since I can't destroy that annoying Guardian of yours," Bakura continued. "I'll end my turn…but you know you're going to have to attack Dark Necrofear sometime soon…and when you do, I shall be ready."

Yami eyed Bakura's field cautiously, taking in the two facedown cards, his Ultimate Offering and both his opponent's monsters. While A Cat of Ill Omen was easy to destroy, he didn't want to risk losing any more life points to an attack from Dark Necrofear. So he drew and smirked.

/_Think its worth the risk?_/ Yugi asked.

/_Well this won't be a very interesting duel if we're just sitting here defending all day_/ Yami pointed out.

"I sacrifice Obnoxious Celtic Guardian to summon Archfiend of Gilfer (2200/2500)!"

Bakura's eyebrows went up another couple of inches as the red and blue skinned fiend appeared, glaring at Dark Necrofear, who just stared back with an equally cold gaze.

"Wow, they really don't seem to like each other!" Malik observed to the audience. "Probably because they're tied in points and any fight between them would end in a stalemate!"

"Dark Necrofear and Archfiend of Gilfer might be equal," Yani said. "But Bakura's Cat of Ill Omen is still in attack mode! Strike it down my beast!"

The fiend roared and slashed at the trembling cat, which then imploded violently, causing the audience to groan again.

**Life Points**

Yugi/Yami: 5300

Ryou/Bakura: 5300

/_They really aren't taking well to this violence are they?_/ Yugi pointed out.

/_Not at all_/ Yami agreed. /_And Bakura still has far worse in his deck to go_/

"That evens the score right up folks!" Malik said happily. "Just what will Bakura do next?!"

Bakura glared at Archfiend of Gilfer as he drew, knowing full well what that monster was capable of once it was destroyed.

/_Damn_/ he thought. /_The Pharaoh won't attack me because he's worried about Dark Necrofear's effect. I could just send Dark Necrofear to attack his Archfiend, then they would both bite the dust, I could play Dark Sanctuary, and his Archfiend wouldn't have a monster to equip to…_/

/_No way!_/ Ryou firmly objected. /_I won't have you kamikaze our monster like that!_/

/_But Ryou…_/ Bakura whined.

/_No buts!_/ Ryou restated. /_Dark Necrofear does not deserve to be sacrificed like that! Show her a little bit of respect!_/

Not willing to listen to Ryou rant any more, Bakura gave in and studied his hand before setting a facedown monster, along with the trap he had just drawn.

"One monster in defence," he said. "And a card facedown. Go ahead Yugi."

/_You should have switched Dark Necrofear to defence mode too_/ Ryou reprimanded.

/_Then he'd know I'm hesitant to attack and he'd have the advantage_/ Bakura explained. /_Its all about keeping Yami guessing…_/

And over on the other side of the field, that's exactly what Yami was doing.

/_He's not attacking_/ Yami thought as he drew. /_That's unusual for Bakura…I would have thought he would have jumped right in with Dark Necrofear just then_/

/_Ryou might be keeping him in check_/ Yugi pointed out. /_Don't forget, it's both of them duelling this time_/

Yami nodded and looked at the two cards in his hands. A victorious smile broke out on his face.

/_Just what we needed!_/

"I play Monster Reborn to bring back Dark Magician Girl!" the Pharaoh announced. The ankh of light appeared, and Dark Magician Girl re-emerged next to Archfiend of Gilfer, pouting irritably at Dark Necrofear.

"So what?" Bakura yawned. "Dark Necrofear beat her once before, she'll beat her again!"

"That _thing_ is female?!" one Hufflepuff audience member yelled in surprise, and Bakura and Dark Necrofear shot him _very _deadly looks.

"Oooh word of advice mate," Malik called out. "Do _not _insult one of Bakura's favourite monsters! Their looks aren't the only lethal thing about them!"

"Anyway, I'm not having her attack just yet," Yami quickly continued, plugging in the last card in his hand. "I equip Dark Magician Girl with Magic Formula!"

A heavy tomb appeared in a puff of smoke, and Dark Magician Girl seized it and immediately began speed-reading (2700/1700). Bakura cursed loudly in what sounded like Egyptian.

"Now how about we even the field a little?" Yami asked. "Archfiend of Gilfer, attack his facedown monster!"

The fiend's attack was swift and deadly, leaving a gasping Earthbound Spirit behind, only to vanish into pixels.

"Dark Magician Girl, take down his Dark Necrofear!" Yami ordered. "Dark Burning Attack!"

The sorceress eagerly hefted the book under her arm and blasted a ball of energy, far more powerful than the last, from the end of her wand at the fiend, who screamed before exploding.

**Life Points**

Yugi/Yami: 5300

Ryou/Bakura: 4800

Bakura threw back his head and laughed.

"You know what happens next Yugi! You have unleashed the very force that shall be your undoing!"

"I end my turn," Yami said, bracing himself for what was about to come.

Bakura drew, added the card to his hand and immediately took the only other card in his hand, raised it into the air above his head, before slamming it dramatically into the field card slot. At once the spell began to take effect.

/_Time to freak out the locals_/ he smirked.

The Quidditch Stadium was suddenly engulfed with orange and purple shadows, which blocked out any and all views beyond. Several of the students screamed as floating eyes suddenly blinked open around them, along with several fanged mouths. Ghosts and spirits floated eerily around the stadium, and a few flew past Yami, who glared at them. Bakura was still cackling.

"Welcome to Dark Sanctuary!"

/_Saw this coming…_/ Yami thought.

/_Clearly the students did not…_/ Yugi pointed out, noticing that some of the first years in particular were downright scared stiff. Even the teachers were looking alarmed.

"This is the very card that I almost beat you with in Battle City Yugi!" Bakura taunted. "And this time you have no Slifer to get you out of it! This time, victory will be mine!"

And just for effect, he let another evil laugh loose to join the spirits hovering around the sanctuary.

OOO

In the stands, Harry was listening hard to the conversation not twenty feet away from him. Usually these seats would be the worst places to sit during Quidditch matches, but since all the action was on the ground, they had the best seats available at the moment. He, Ron and Hermione were as close to the match as you could get without being Malik. Though right now, that was not necessarily a good thing. Harry ducked as another spirit came close to his head, and Hermione squeaked and jumped so that she was practically sitting on top of Ron.

Interested in the field, Harry leaned in a little closer, listening to the exchange going on between the two duellists.

"Ryou's taking the creepy thing a little bit far isn't he?" Ron asked, having got over his initial fright in favour of calming Hermione down. "Did you hear him laughing just now?"

Harry nodded. He could not quite put his finger on it, but there was something different about the way Yugi and Ryou were acting. He had noticed it a few times in previous duels, but never this clearly. He guessed it was easier to get worked up over a duel if you were using the duel disks. They did produce some very realistic looking monsters, and he guessed the urge to shout at each other was greater if you could visibly see your monsters being defeated.

But still…

"It's more than just their attitudes," Hermione said, squinting through her binoculars at the faces of the duellists, presumably to distract herself from the ghosts in the arena. "Both Yugi and Ryou look different. They look so focused and…well there's something in Ryou's eyes that makes him look almost…not quite sane…"

Ron grabbed the binoculars from her hands and studied the albino.

"She's right," he confirmed. "He looks like he's completely lost it…and he was cursing before when his monster got destroyed. He sounded really mad."

"Ryou never gets mad…" Harry trailed off, realising that he had seen occasions where Ryou had lost his temper.

"How can he go from nice and sweet, to violent in one second?" Ron said, seeming to have reached the same conclusion as Harry. "And to Yugi no less…they're supposed to be friends."

"We should keep an eye on them," Hermione summarised, looking up and shivering at the creepy eyes staring down at them. "Several eyes…"

OOO

"Okay, you've had your gloating Bakura," Malik announced. "Can you please make your move?"

"If you insist," Bakura smirked, studying his hand of three and the field. So far he had three facedown cards and Ultimate Offering. Yami still had a facedown card along with his two monsters and Magic Formula.

/_Now that Dark Sanctuary is active_/ Bakura thought. /_I can safely activate Destiny Board the next time the Pharaoh's turn comes around. He won't escape its clutches this time!_/

"I shall summon another new addition to my deck…Necro Wall (0/0)!" the thief announced. On the other side of the field, Yami looked interested, and then disgusted as what looked like a paving stone with a hideous face and purple tentacles protruding from it appeared. Several people in the audience gave similar expressions.

"And this new monster does what exactly?" Yami asked.

"It must have a pretty kick ass special ability to make up for having zero points!" Malik observed, in his magically magnified voice. Bakura rolled his eyes, and explained.

"Once per turn I can special summon what is known as a 'Necro Wall Token' with the same stats as my original Necro Wall, one for each Zombie monster on my side of the field. So I'll special summon one right now."

A duplicate of the Necro Wall appeared beside it. Yami frowned.

/_Clever_/ he thought. /_He's setting himself up with an endless supply of tributes for Dark Sanctuary…_/

"I shall end my turn," Bakura announced, and as he spoke, a group of spirits appeared from the castle of Dark Sanctuary behind him, swooping down on his Necro Wall Token and dragging it back into the castle.

"Oh and as it's my End Phase," Bakura added almost carelessly. "I have to tribute a monster for Dark Sanctuary to keep it on the field."

"Have to say…" Malik mused aloud. "Adding magic to the holograms makes them so much cooler."

"Why thank you," Bakura smirked. "I'm glad my cards meet with approval from our referee."

"My move," Yami cut in, drawing. Bakura immediately interrupted, pressing the button on his duel disk.

"Activate Destiny Board!"

Before him appeared a giant stone Ouija board, with letters and numbers engraved on it. A stone hand moved a marker across the board until it reached the letter "F".

"The spirits have a message for you Yugi!" Bakura taunted as a ghostly letter "F" appeared above his head. "You have five turns left!"

Yami nodded and continued.

"Archfiend of Gilfer, attack his Necro Wall!"

The fiend roared and raised its arm, but before it could attack, a holographic coin appeared above the field, spinning in mid air.

"You know the drill Yugi," Bakura smirked. "I call heads!"

The coin clattered to the ground, landing with the Eye of Horus staring out at the duellists. Bakura's smirk got wider and Yami grimaced as Archfiend of Gilfer suddenly groaned in pain and a spirit shot out of its back, colliding with Yami, causing him to double over at the unsettling feeling.

**Life Points**

Yugi/Yami: 4200

Ryou/Bakura: 5900

"Ouch!" Malik said, not sounding pained in the slightest – on the contrary, he sounded gleeful at all the action going on. "That had to hurt! But that's what you get for attacking with a monster that's possessed! The Resentment Spirit of Dark Sanctuary just attacked Yugi with half the attack of his monster!"

Bakura laughed again, fully relishing his chance to have the upper hand. Yami did not look happy and gestured to Dark Magician Girl.

"Dark Magician Girl you try!"

Dark Magician Girl too was looking irritated at Bakura's laughter, and she blasted a ball of dark magic at the Wall. Bakura however just hit another button on his duel disk. A purple energy shield appeared before him, and behind him the ghostly form of Earthbound Spirit appeared.

"What?!" Yami was taken off guard at the new card.

"Meet my Spirit Shield!" Bakura said smugly. "This is a continuous trap card that requires me to remove a fiend or zombie from play, but then I can negate one attack and end your Battle Phase! Tough luck your highness!"

Yami growled and waved a hand to indicate that his turn was over. Immediately the hand on the Destiny Board slid over to the other side, to circle another letter. A second spirit message appeared, spelling out "F" "I".

"Hey wait a sec," a second year who was sitting behind Harry, Ron and Hermione said loudly. "Their disks can only take five spells or traps, and each letter of Destiny Board takes one space. If Bakura wants to keep his Ultimate Offering and his Spirit Shield on the field he's not going to be able to complete it."

Harry raised an eyebrow. The kid was obviously muggleborn and a fan of the game if he knew the rules. Ron immediately jumped in though.

"I've heard Ryou tell us about his Dark Sanctuary card. It lets him play spells and traps in his monster zones. So he can technically have up to ten if he wants."

"That seems a little broken," the second year complained.

"I imagine that's why it has such a high cost attached to it," Hermione said. "At the end of the day, Dark Sanctuary is still a game of chance, and it also needs the duellist to give up monsters. It's not all that reliable."

"Still powerful though," Harry remarked.

/_Hermione has a point_/ Bakura thought, having heard this conversation loud and clear courtesy of the Ring. /_But I have plenty of ways to work around whatever limitations Dark Sanctuary may have. The Necro Wall Tokens are just one example_/

He drew and thought for a bit.

/_We need more monsters for Spirit Shield_/ Ryou said. /_Unless you're planning on removing Diabound or Dark Necrofear from the Graveyard for it_/

/_No thank you_/ Bakura replied, still a little irritated that he had been forced to drop his Ka with Card Destruction. /_We can bring Diabound back if and when we need him. The means to do that are already on the field. For now, this will give us means to keep Spirit Shield_/

"I play Burial from a Different Dimension!" Bakura announced, plugging the card he had just drawn into his disk, and fishing three monsters out from the pocket of his trench coat and replacing them into his graveyard. "Now I can take Earthbound Spirit, Sangan and Headless Knight and return them to my Graveyard!"

/_Now he has more monsters for Spirit Shield_/ Yami thought. /_With that and Dark Sanctuary, he's practically untouchable_/

/_On the other hand_/ Yugi said. /_If he runs out of monsters for it, its useless, and if we can get rid of Dark Sanctuary his whole strategy comes crashing down anyway_/

"I summon another Necro Wall Token," Bakura declared, and yet another token appeared. "I'll switch Necro Wall itself to defence mode. Then I'll set a monster in defence mode and end my turn."

He did so and folded his arms as the spirits from the castle swept down on the Necro Wall Token and dragged it back into the darkness.

"My move," Yami said, adding another card to his hand.

/_We need to get rid of the monsters in his graveyard_/ Yugi said.

/_I agree_/ Yami said. /_It might cost us some life points if we're wrong, but we've only got three more turns before Destiny Board is complete_/

"Archfiend of Gilfer, attack his Necro Wall again!"

Bakura's eyebrows went up again, almost disappearing into his hair as the coin appeared again spinning. "Heads!"

The coin clattered to the floor, and this time it landed with the blank side up. Bakura calmly reached for his discard slot, and tucked Earthbound Spirit back into his pocket. Spirit Shield flared brightly and the fiend bounced off looking extremely put out.

"And that's your Battle Phase," the thief said. "Anything else you want to do?"

Yami just scowled and waved him on. Above Bakura's head, Destiny Board creaked as the third letter appeared next to the first two, spelling "F" "I" "N". Bakura placed the third Spirit Message onto a monster card zone as his spell and trap zones were now full.

"The countdown to Yugi's defeat continues!" Malik announced ominously. "And Bakura's duel disk is starting to look really full there!"

"Malik shut up!" Bakura hissed as he drew. "You're ruining my moment!"

"I will not be silenced!" Malik cried dramatically. Yami rolled his eyes.

/_He's taking a bit too much pleasure from this_/ the Pharaoh decided, and in the back of his mind he could hear Yugi giggling. Both of them had to agree though. With Ultimate Offering, Destiny Board, Spirit Shield, his facedown card and two Spirit Messages, Bakura was definitely taking advantage of the very deadly effects of Dark Sanctuary.

"I flip summon my Morphing Jar!" Bakura shouted. As he spoke his facedown card flipped up, and a stone jar appeared with a dark worm like face protruding from it. The worm gave a cackle and Bakura tossed the one card in his hand into the graveyard. Scowling, Yami did the same, and both duellists drew another five cards.

"_Perfect!" _both of them thought.

"I set a card facedown and special summon another Necro Wall Token!" Bakura said, wincing a little as his final Monster card zone was filled. "I end my turn tributing my token to Dark Sanctuary!"

The token was swept up into the castle, and Yami drew.

/_I can't lose!_/ Bakura smirked. /_As soon as he ends his turn I'll activate my facedown Pyro Clock of Destiny, giving me the final two Spirit Messages, and my victory! The Pharaoh doesn't realise it, but this is his last turn!_/

/_I'm not so sure…_/ Ryou thought. /_Look at Yami's face!_/

Bakura did so and cringed as he realised that Yami was smirking at the six cards in his hand.

"Sorry Bakura, but its time to say goodbye to your Sanctuary! I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior (1600/1000)!"

Bakura felt his jaw drop open as the red robed spellcaster appeared, his shield and sword raised in readiness. The blue jewel in the front of his shield began to glow and his points rose (1900/1000).

/_Damn!_/ Bakura cursed. /_How does he manage this every single bloody time?!_/

"I activate Breaker's ability!" Yami continued. "Removing his spell counter to destroy Dark Sanctuary!"

The magical warrior smirked and slashed its sword at the castle behind Bakura, which immediately disintegrated into dust. The purple and orange sky vanished along with the mouths and eyes. The students breathed a collective sigh of relief, glad that the ghosts were finally gone. Bakura however, did not look pleased in the slightest as Spirit Message "N" and his Pyro Clock of Destiny vanished from the field. He grudgingly removed them from his monster card zone and slid them into the graveyard.

"Unbelievable!" Malik cheered. "Yugi got rid of Dark Sanctuary! Looks like Bakura's strategy just came crashing down around him!"

Bakura just about resisted the urge to strangle Malik for his comment, and instead focused all his anger onto Yami and Breaker, who had just returned to the Pharaoh's side of the field, its attack now back to its original value of 1600.

"Now Dark Magician Girl, attack his Morphing Jar!" Yami commanded. Thrilled that the darkness was gone, Dark Magician Girl giggled and attempted to blast the jar. Bakura however had recovered enough from his anger and surprise to grab another card from his discard slot. Souls of the Forgotten appeared behind him as Spirit Shield appeared once more. Yami narrowed his eyes, having temporarily forgotten that discarding his hand with Morphing Jar would have given him more fuel for his trap card, which sadly was still on the field.

"I set this facedown and end my turn," Yami announced.

Scowling, Bakura drew. Though he had five cards in his hand, he could not play any spells or traps as all his zones were full and he had no way of emptying them.

/_Great_/ the thief lamented, looking at Emergency Provisions. /_I have means to free myself, but lack the room to do it…the irony is not lost on me either hikari…_/ he added hearing Ryou snorting with laughter at the line that he had never expected to hear fall from the lips of the King of Thieves.

/_Sorry_/ Ryou said. /_I'll agree this does look bad. While we can defend against his attacks so long as we have Spirit Shield, we can't play any of Diabound's combos, or summon Zorc without our spell or trap zones_/

/_We need to get out of this_/ Bakura agreed. /_For now, we need to get our weaker monsters off the field or he'll pick them off one by one. Morphing Jar, while giving the Pharaoh what he needed, also gave us what we needed_/

/_Can't defeat Dark Magician Girl_/ Ryou reminded him.

/_But we can still take out his other monsters_/ Bakura pointed out, taking the card and removing Morphing Jar from his disk.

"I tribute my Morphing Jar to summon Dark Ruler Ha Des (2450/1600)!"

Yami raised an eyebrow again as the hulking green skinned fiend dressed in an elaborate set of robes and headdress appeared, smirking at the Pharaoh's side of the field.

"That's a new one too…" Yami remarked.

"Not really," Bakura corrected. "You just never saw me use this monster. I used it in Battle City on the blimp."

"You did?" Yami was surprised, but then he saw Malik and Bakura exchange looks and he summarised exactly which duel this must have been. "Oh well, either way your Dark Ruler can't beat Dark Magician Girl!"

As if to illustrate this, Dark Magician Girl tossed her hair over her shoulder and shook a finger at Bakura. The thief glared at her.

"I'm aware of that thank you," he said. "But he's more than strong enough to destroy your Magical Warrior! Dark Ruler Ha Des, destroy Breaker and show him why it's a bad idea to mess with my field spells!"

The dark fiend cackled and sent deadly black flames at Breaker, who cried out in pain before he was incinerated.

**Life Points**

Yugi/Yami: 3350

Ryou/Bakura: 5900

Yami winced, as did Dark Magician Girl. Archfiend of Gilfer was glaring at Dark Ruler Ha Des looking as though it wanted nothing more than to go over there and rip the demon ruler's head off.

"I'll special summon another Necro Wall Token in defence mode," Bakura announced, drawing everyone's attention to the almost forgotten wall on the field, which was now joined by a duplicate token. "And end my turn."

Yami drew and waved an arm over his trap card.

"Activate Penalty Game!"

His trap card rose to reveal Invader of Darkness pointing at Bakura, who raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm…that's a new one. What does it do?"

"I can only activate this when you have four cards in your hand," Yami explained. "Then I can choose one of two effects. And I chose the first effect, which stops you from drawing in your next Draw Phase!"

Bakura scowled. "Well that's irritating…incidentally though, what was the other effect you could have chosen?"

"To stop you from activating any spell or trap cards this turn," Yami explained, giving Bakura's lone facedown card that had been sitting there for some time now a look. "But I'm pretty sure if that facedown were going to do anything you would have activated it last turn and freed up at least one of your spell and trap zones."

/_He's right_/ Bakura thought bitterly looking reproachfully at his facedown Call of the Haunted. /_But even if I had activated it, Call of the Haunted stays on the field with the monster anyway so it wouldn't have mattered_/

"Dark Magician Girl, attack his Dark Ruler!" Yami ordered. "Dark Burning Attack!"

Poor Dark Magician Girl was very frustrated by now, having had the bulk of her attacks intercepted by now, and seemed determined to blast Bakura's monster as hard as she could. Bakura however removed his Headless Knight from the graveyard and Spirit Shield burst into life again. Dark Magician Girl stamped her foot angrily as she lowered her wand and Dark Ruler Ha Des leered at her.

"Are you finished Yugi?" Bakura asked pleasantly, knowing full well that his trap card was pissing everyone off.

"I switch Archfiend of Gilfer to defence mode and then I am," Yami growled, and his fiend knelt on the ground.

"This guy has nine lives ladies and gentlemen," Malik announced with a groan. From the wave of murmurs it was clear that the audience agreed wholeheartedly.

Bakura reached for his deck…before remembering that he couldn't draw this turn. He quickly turned to his hand and repressed a groan.

/_Look's like we're a bit stuck…_/ Ryou said dully.

/_Y'think?_/ Bakura asked sarcastically, before announcing aloud. "I summon another Necro Wall Token and end my turn!"

Yami drew and sighed.

/_Mystical Space Typhoon_/ Yugi said, looking over his shoulder. /_We could get rid of Spirit Shield with that_/

/_Yes but that would free up one of his spell and trap zones_/ Yami pointed out. /_I'm pretty sure Bakura's got plenty of cards he wants to use in his hand, but he can't because his zones are full. If we free up even one of them he could gain the upper hand again_/

/_Its either that or we keep running head first into that Spirit Shield_/ Yugi reminded him. /_We'd have cleared out his field by now if not for that trap card_/

/_Maybe you're right_/ Yami said. /_This is getting a little repetitive running into that trap over and over again. Maybe we should give him some space to breathe_/

"I play Mystical Space Typhoon!" Yami announced, plugging the spell in. A second later a typhoon appeared on the field and shattered the thief's Spirit Shield. Bakura didn't know whether to look happy that he had one of his spell and trap card zones back, or whether to be pissed that Yami had just blown his last line of defence apart.

"I switch Archfiend of Gilfer back to attack mode!" Yami continued, and his fiend rose upright again. "Dark Magician Girl, attack his Dark Ruler with Dark Burning Attack!"

Looking utterly gleeful, Dark Magician Girl waved her staff, and this time, Dark Ruler Ha Des exploded. Dark Magician Girl let out a joyful cheer in response.

**Life Points**

Yugi/Yami: 3350

Ryou/Bakura: 5650

"Archfiend of Gilfer, your turn!" Yami commanded. "Destroy his Necro Wall!"

The stone wall shattered into a pile of dust under the force of the Archfiend's ferocious claws.

"I end my turn," Yami announced.

"Thank you!" Bakura said, drawing from his deck and smirking at his hand. "You'll regret freeing up my field Yugi! I play Emergency Provisions, sending Ultimate Offering, Destiny Board and Spirit Message "I" to the graveyard, giving me an extra three thousand life points!"

**Life Points**

Yugi/Yami: 3350

Ryou/Bakura: 8650

"Bakura's back well past where he started everyone!" Malik announced. "Can Yugi bring him back down?"

"You all wish!" Bakura snorted. "Just watch me! I'll beat you this time Yugi!"

"Isn't that what you said the last time?" Yami asked with a smug politeness to his voice. Bakura looked incensed.

"I play Call of the Haunted! Diabound Colonel, arise and fight for your master (1800/1200)!"

Another ghostly spirit emerged from Bakura's graveyard, solidifying into the demonic grey fiend. It folded its arms, and its snake tail hissed at Yami's monsters, who did not look impressed in the slightest. Bakura smirked at his monster, feeling a surge of confidence as it stood beside him.

OOO

Up in the stands, Harry, Ron and Hermione all jerked at the sight of Diabound.

"That monster…" Ron whispered.

"We've seen it before…" Harry muttered. "And not in a table top duel…"

"But we've never seen them duel with holograms before…" Hermione said. "So how could we?"

The three of them exchanged looks again. Something _very _weird was going on here…

OOO

"Now that I have my spell and trap zones free," Bakura said, plugging a spell card in. "I can activate this…Spirit Illusion!"

The spell card appeared and Diabound immediately split into two copies. Yami narrowed his crimson eyes further. He had seen this combo before.

"Doppleganger Diabound, curse his Dark Magician Girl!"

The copy of Bakura's Ka launched itself at the stunned Dark Magician Girl, who made to block it with her staff. Before she could though the fiend vanished and sank into her body like a fog. Dark Magician Girl suddenly wilted as her attack plummeted (900/1700).

"She's not looking so cheerful now is she?!" Bakura taunted. "Now Diabound, strike that mage down with Helical Shockwave!"

The true Diabound raised its hands and waves of magic pulsed from it. Dark Magician Girl screamed and shattered…Yami's life points however went up!

**Life Points**

Yugi/Yami: 3450

Ryou/Bakura: 8650

"What?!" Bakura was stunned. "You should have lost nine hundred life points!"

"When Magic Formula is sent to the graveyard I gain a thousand life points!" Yami informed him.

"Argh!" Bakura groaned. "Fine then! Diabound takes on the original attack of the monster it just destroyed, so my monster now has the strength of your Dark Magician Girl! I'll set a card facedown and end my turn!"

The holographic card appeared as Diabound's stats suddenly altered (2000/1200).

Yami drew and frowned.

"Archfiend of Gilfer, destroy his Diabound!"

The fiend lurched forward, but Bakura pounded the button on his duel disk.

"Activate Waboku!"

Yami and Yugi suppressed groans of frustration as the three blue robed priestesses appeared, waved their hands and halted the Archfiend in its tracks.

"I set a card facedown and end my turn," Yami groaned.

Bakura drew, and he felt a smile cross his face as he studied what he had drawn.

/_Time he witnessed our combined power…_/ Bakura thought.

/_Go ahead Bakura_/ Ryou smiled.

"I play Change of Heart!" Bakura announced, plugging the spell in. Yami gave a start.

"Change of…"

/_Remember_/ Yugi prompted. /_This deck belongs to both of them_/

"Your Archfiend of Gilfer now belongs to me!" Bakura cackled, watching as the fiend was dragged over to his side. "Then I shall play the spell Contract with the Dark Master!"

Archfiend of Gilfer and Bakura's two remaining Necro Wall Tokens were suddenly swallowed up by the darkness. In their place appeared a robed figure, which caused Yami and Yugi to gasp in recognition.

FLASHBACK

The four miniature lead figurines rounded on the Non-Player Character. The figure warped and twisted, the robes flying off to reveal the very muscular dark skinned creature that had been terrorising Monster World for so long!

"What's this?" Bakura asked, though he actually sounded highly amused at everyone's surprise. "The young man's form _changes _and _grows _before your very eyes! For he is none other than…Dark Master – Zorc!"

The monster loomed above the four travellers, the players of which wondered exactly what they had got themselves into…

END FLASHBACK

Yami and Yugi shook off the flashback just in time to see the robes vanish and Zorc burst into the arena, leering down at them with a sinister expression on his face (2700/1500).

"I trust you remember this particular monster," Bakura smirked. "You should. It's the very monster that I almost beat you with in Monster World!"

/_Also the very monster that we gave him and Ryou_/ Yugi pointed out.

"Bakura has one of his heavy hitters out!" Malik grinned. "But will it be enough to topple Yugi?!"

"Oh it'll be enough!" Bakura smirked. "Because with both my monsters poised to attack, this duel is over! Dark Master – Zorc, attack him directly with Dark Inferno!"

Yami smirked. "I wouldn't celebrate just yet Bakura…go Nutrient Z!"

Bakura howled in rage as the facedown card on Yami's left flipped up to reveal the purple bottle with 4000 inscribed on the side.

**Life Points**

Yugi/Yami: 7450

Ryou/Bakura: 8650

No sooner had the life point counter readjusted, than Zorc's attack hit, sending Yami skidding onto his back. When he got up he was smirking however.

**Life Points**

Yugi/Yami: 4750

Ryou/Bakura: 8650

Bakura was enraged. "Diabound attack with Helical Shockwave! Wipe that smirk off his face!"

Yami shook his head and punched the second button on his duel disk. Diabound's attack was suddenly bounced off a shining barrier of light, which sprung up before Yami.

"NO!" Bakura roared, as the light reflected back, blasting Diabound and Zorc to ashes.

"Well…" Malik blinked, completely stunned at the abrupt turn around. "That was unexpected…"

"Mirror Force had something to say about that attack I'm afraid Bakura," Yami shook his head, slotting both the traps into the discard slot. "Would you like to try again?"

"Shut up!" Bakura snarled, looking at his empty hand before waving Yami on. Still smirking, the Pharaoh drew, adding a sixth card to his hand.

"Oooh dear…" Malik announced to the audience. "I've seen that smirk before. Sorry Bakura, but I think you're about to get schooled…"

"Shut up Malik!" Bakura snapped.

"I'm afraid it's true Bakura," Yami said, checking his hand. "This is the move that shall win me the match."

"You're bluffing!" Bakura snorted. "There is no way you can take out eight thousand six hundred and fifty life points in one turn!"

"Oh?" Yami smirked. "Then allow me to prove you wrong! First I shall summon Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700)!"

A young man dressed in dark blue robes, with three orbs set into the fabric appeared before him.

"I'm waiting to be impressed," Bakura growled.

"I'm getting there!" Yami assured him. "Next I play Spell Reproduction!" He threw two spells into his discard slot (Exchange and Sages Stone) and added another card to his hand. "This allows me to add Polymerization from my graveyard to my hand, at the cost of discarding two other spells."

"I'm still not impressed," Bakura informed him. "That was a lot of cards to use just to summon a worthless magician and to get back an equally useless spell card."

Yami scowled, and Skilled Dark Magician looked highly affronted as one of the orbs on his clothing began to glow.

"I would advise you not to insult my monsters Bakura," Yami growled out, taking another card from his hand. "Next I play Card of Sanctity! Now we can each draw until we are holding six cards in our hand!"

Skilled Dark Magician's second spell counter lit up as both duellists drew, Yami taking four cards and Bakura regaining the full six.

/_Just what we needed!_/ Yugi said happily. Yami nodded before continuing.

"Next I shall play the spell card Emblem of Dragon Destroyer!" the Pharaoh said, plugging the spell card in. "This allows me to move Buster Blader to my hand!"

As he added the card from his deck to his hand, the third orb on Skilled Dark Magician's robes began to glow. Bakura's eyes widened.

/_He'd better not be doing what I _think _he's doing…_/

"Ready to meet some of my best Bakura?" Yami asked, plugging in another spell. "I play Polymerization, fusing Buster Blader and Dark Magician to form the almighty Dark Paladin (2900/2400)!"

The two aforementioned monsters vanished into the vortex of light, and from it emerged a tall spellcaster in greenish blue robes, carrying a deadly looking staff in one hand. He narrowed his eyes at Bakura, who was beginning to look nervous.

"I'm not finished there though Bakura," Yami told him. "I still have a few more monsters to summon! I use Skilled Dark Magician's effect, tributing him to special summon Dark Magician back from my graveyard!"

Bakura swore as the all too familiar spellcaster appeared beside Dark Paladin. Almost immediately however, he was engulfed in a bright light as Yami plugged in yet another card.

"I play Dedication Through Light and Darkness!" the Pharaoh continued. "Tributing Dark Magician to special summon Dark Magician of Chaos (2800/2600)!"

Sure enough, the light faded away, and the mage wearing a black bodysuit, carrying its overlarge staff and wearing an equally oversized hat appeared where Dark Magician had been standing not seconds ago.

"Dark Magician of Chaos's effect allows me to bring back a spell card from my graveyard," Yami continued. "I chose Monster Reborn!"

"Oh come on!" Bakura whined, as the spell reappeared and Yami slotting it into his duel disk immediately. Dark Magician reappeared yet again.

"I'm afraid so!" the Pharaoh smirked.

"Wait wait wait," Bakura said frowning before grinning. "You miscalculated there Yugi! In total those monsters will only do eighty two hundred points of damage, which will leave me with three hundred and fifty life points left!"

"_Only _eighty two hundred points of damage?!" Malik asked incredulously. "That's still gonna _hurt_ you realise, even if it doesn't wipe you out!"

"Now now Bakura, I wasn't born yesterday," Yami said, raising the final two cards in his hand. "I still have one more monster to call to the field, courtesy of a useful spell card called Double Summon!"

/_Oh crap!_/ Bakura thought. /_That lets him have an extra Normal Summon for this turn!_/

/_We're finished_/ Ryou said dully.

"I use my extra normal summon to call Magician's Valkyria to the field!" Yami announced, and on Dark Magician's other side appeared a sorceress wearing a green dress and a matching hat in a similar style to that of Dark Magician Girl's (1600/1800).

"Ooooh I'd hate to be Bakura right now…" Malik grinned manically. Bakura didn't even attempt to chastise him for his comment. He was too busy staring at the four spellcasters with a mounting look of horror on his face.

"Now my Magician's," Yami called out powerfully. "Strike him down and _end this duel!"_

No one in the Quidditch stadium of Hogwarts had ever heard such a monumental explosion, as four different sources of magic collided painfully with Bakura. Energy cackled and a blinding flash of light burst outward, causing all the spectators to shield their eyes…

When they lowered their hands, Bakura was lying on the ground, with his duel disk mirroring the magical ribbons above his head.

**Life Points**

Yugi/Yami: 4750

Ryou/Bakura: 0

"We have a winner folks!" Malik cheered loudly.

"Bakura!" Yami was already racing across the pitch toward the fallen thief. As he approached, Bakura rolled over onto his side, muttering obscenities in Egyptian. Malik hastily waved his wand at the two duellists to cut off Bakura's swearing which could potentially damage the ears of anyone who could understand him.

"He's okay!" Malik assured the audience. "If he can curse, he's fine!"

There were a few faint chuckles from the audience, who were starting to get up and gather their belongings now that the action was over.

"Save it Pharoah," Bakura growled out. "I'm fine…"

He staggered to his feet; trying not to show how much pain he was in. Yami couldn't help but feel that maybe he should have hit him with a little less force.

"If you're sure," he said. "You think you can make it back to the castle?"

Bakura gave him a glare. "I have been in far worse pain in my life than this Pharaoh. I've jumped off a three story building, I've been beaten, whipped, stabbed…even a stray spear at one point…"

"Oooh…" Malik pulled a face, and Yami winced.

"So as you can see, I can take a little pain in a game of Duel Monsters," Bakura pointed out, brushing himself off.

"Well, it was still a good match," Yami said. Bakura grunted, but it was easy to see he was smiling. He had had his fun and got to act as lord and master for a while, so it had not been a total loss in his eyes.

"Didn't we say we'd give the Gryffindor's the pitch?" Bakura asked.

"Yes we should go," Yami said, pointing off to the front row of seats. "Looks like Harry, Ron and Hermione are waiting for us."

Sure enough the three Gryffindors were watching the three duellists with curious expressions on their faces.

"Thank you everybody!" Malik shouted, addressing the departing crowd once again. "You've been a wonderful audience! You're all beautiful! Have a great day!"

And with that he turned the volume down on his voice again, and the three set off for the stands to meet their friends.

Up in their seats, Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged looks as the transfers started to approach.

"That was…an interesting duel," Ron summarised.

"Yeah…" Harry agreed, narrowing his eyes appraisingly at the three approaching students, two of whom he felt he did not quite recognise anymore. "Very interesting…"

* * *

OOO

**Card Specs**

_Name: _Dark Sanctuary

_Card Type: _Field Spell

_Image: _A black castle against a background of orange and purple shadows, with fanged mouths and eyes hovering overhead.

_Card Text: _You may only activate this card if at least one 'Dark Necrofear' is in your Graveyard. As long as this card is on the field, the effect of any 'Dark Necrofear' cards in your Graveyard is negated. If no 'Dark Necrofear' cards are in your Graveyard, negate this card's effects. You must tribute one Monster at the End Phase of your turns to keep this card on the field. If you do not, destroy this card. Once during each of your opponent's Battle Phases, when your opponent's Monster declares an attack, you may toss one coin and call it. If you call it right, negate the attack and inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the current ATK of the Monster whose attack was negated, and increase your Life Points by the same amount. If you call it wrong, the attack continues as normal. Also, you may treat your Monster Card Zones as Spell and Trap Card Zones. If there are any Spell and Trap Cards in your Monster Card Zone when this card is destroyed, they are destroyed as well.

* * *

**A/N: **Yes FOOTBALL people, FOOTBALL. I'm British! Please don't ask me to change my terminology because I'm telling you now I will not do it.

I have new youtube videos up! If there are any pyromaniacs in the audience, or if you just want to see a good video, go to my youtube account, and watch the video of me and my friends blowing up cups of gunpowder. Amusing for all to watch! Just type my name (Mei1105) into the youtube search engine and you'll get my videos. The video is (unsurprisingly) titled "Fun with Gunpowder".

As always, extra thanks to DuelistBlake1852 and Isis the Sphinx, for taking time out of their busy schedules to read this chapter through.

I know in the anime there is no coin tossing in Dark Sanctuary. This aspect of the effect was borrowed with permission from DuelistBlake1852. So all credit in that respect goes to him. To be fair, reading the card text on wikipedia gave me a headache and looked unnecessarily complicated. And any duellist will agree with me that that card effect is really broken in the anime.

Bakura: Are you insulting my cards woman?!

Mei: (jumps in the air) Don't sneak up on me!

Bakura: You were calling my field spell broken weren't you?

Mei: Yes. I was. Got a problem?

Bakura: (summons Diabound) Care to take back those words?

Mei: (smirks and summons Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys) No not really!

(the two glare at each other before shouting 'Diaha!')

Ryou: Oh my…erm, please review. I don't think I can stop them on my own, and I _really _don't want them to kill each other…(trails off as an explosion takes place). Too late…

Isis: (she sighs, then pulls out Gravity Bind) Cool it bakas! We haven't paid off the fine yet for the last building you demolished! (smacks forehead when she finds out it's too late)


	19. Chapter 19: The Spiders Web

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Harry Potter I would have a wand and would be hexing idiots on the bus who like to leer at me. If I owned YuGiOh…well, it definitely would not be suitable for kids, I promise you that!

**Warning: **This chapter involves a small amount of blood, psychological horror and serious injury to animals (not Duel Monsters). Shouldn't be too dramatic if you've read the manga, but I am still requested to warn everyone.

Bakura: Well this is fucking pointless. Doesn't it kinda give it away if you warn everyone?

Mei: Shut up Bakura, or I won't cover for you when you go terrorise the OAPs in the park!

**Dedication: **This is a late birthday present for Tai, my Imouto-chan, who tuned nineteen last week…I suppose its also a birthday present for me, since I turn twenty today…literally just now since I posted this at midnight on May 11th…

Bakura: You don't act your age at all…

Mei: Yeah well you're five thousand and twenty one and you still act like you're three…

* * *

**Chapter 19: The Spiders Web**

"I can't believe it!" Ryou panicked, racing around the dormitory, picking up pieces of parchment, which seemed to have migrated around the room. "I can't believe we left this so late! Malik get moving already!"

"Mm up…" the Egyptian mumbled, pulling his shirt on backwards, and getting stuck inside his robes. Yugi, who had already dressed and collected his own notes and books for the day, was at the door, trying to make some sense of the whirlwind of chaos that was Ryou.

"Ryou," the King of Games said patiently. His friend turned to find Yugi dangling the Millennium Ring on the end of his finger. "This what you were looking for?"

"Thanks," Ryou said, pulling the Ring on and moving aside the dirty laundry on the end of his bed. "There it is!"

He pulled out his potions homework with a flourish.

"What are you all up so early?" Harry asked, pulling on his glasses blearily.

"We need to go hand some of our fourth year coursework in today," Yugi explained. "We were going to do it before breakfast, but we've all overslept…"

"I can't believe I left it so late," Ryou fretted. "I'm going to get a bad mark for this. I knew all those duelling practises were a bad idea…"

"You don't mean that," Malik said shrewdly, appearing from his bed, shirt now on correctly, but still not tucked in. He shoved his homework into his bag carelessly.

"Well…no," Ryou admitted, dropping the robes that he had worn the day before into a heap on the floor by his bed. "But I still would have done better..."

"See you all later!" Yugi said, ushering his friends out the door, leaving a very stupefied set of roommates behind.

"Makes you glad you've been here so long," Ron commented sleepily. "I'd hate to be doing a crash course."

Yugi, Ryou and Malik never showed up for breakfast, but for once this was a blessing in disguise. Hermione met Harry and Ron in the common room, and had told them with much excitement that she had finished translating the notes. With no transfers around to eavesdrop, she pulled out her translations and explained them in a hushed voice as they sat down to eat.

"I pieced together the conversation," she explained. "This was the first note, from Malik. I assume it must have been to Ryou, as it's his handwriting that replies."

She pointed to the first paragraph, and Harry and Ron leaned over.

"_King of Thieves – What should we do about the Snake? – Tomb Keeper."_

"Tomb Keeper is Malik right?" Ron said. "So…does that mean that King of Thieves is Ryou? I thought in the other notes you'd deciphered, Change of Heart was Ryou?"

"I don't know," Hermione shrugged. "But it was Ryou who replied to the note."

She pointed to the next translation.

"The interesting thing about the reply is the style it's written in," she explained. "Both of them are writing using the Egyptian Hieroglyphic language. But there is a difference between the two. Malik's note was written using the formal Egyptian Hieratic text, and it's reasonably well scripted. The reply is more…rough, and less eloquent."

"In English Hermione?" Ron asked. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Basically, Malik is using the style of speech that would have been used by someone well educated in Ancient Egypt, like the Pharaoh or a member of his court. Ryou's style of hieroglyphs is less refined, and it's the equivalent to street talking. Some of the hieroglyphs also make up part of an ancient code used by thieves. I had to look up some of the translations in the library."

Bearing all this information in his head, Harry looked down at the note.

"_Tomb Keeper – Change of Heart checked Snake's soul with the Ring. He thinks Snake may just be confused about what he wants, and between what is right and what other people want him to do. He may be right. He is a better judge of character. Will discuss at break when Batface is not listening – Thief King."_

Not for the first time, Ron snorted at the name.

"Batface…classic!"

"I have no idea what Change of Heart means," Hermione admitted. "But I'm sure I translated it correctly."

"I know what it means," Harry said. "Do you remember the duel they had the other week? Change of Heart is one of Ryou's favourite cards."

"He checked Malfoy's soul with a card?" Ron asked sceptically. Hermione pointed further down, impatiently.

"The next few notes help it make more sense," she assured them. "The next one was Malik to Yugi."

"_King of Games – What does the Pharaoh make of what the Snake said? – Tomb Keeper."_

"King of Games has to be Yugi," Hermione pointed out.

"Again with this Pharaoh stuff," Ron said. "Who is this Pharaoh they keep talking about? And this Thief King?"

"I don't know," Hermione said. "But look at the reply. It's signed by the Pharaoh, and yet it was Yugi who sent it."

Her friends immediately scanned the reply.

"_Tomb Keeper – I think the Snake was afraid when we refused to give him the ring. What does the King of Thieves think? – Pharaoh."_

"Okay all these codenames are making me dizzy," Ron said, shaking his head.

"The last note was the one that really pieces everything together," Hermione said, pointing to the final translation.

"_Pharaoh and King of Games –King of Thieves says "Change of Heart used Millennium Ring to read Snake's soul this morning. Snake is just conflicted, not evil" I have a hunch he may be correct. Will talk at break when we aren't in danger of being overheard by Batface. We also need to think of a way to shake off awkward questions from Boy Who Lived and co – Tomb Keeper over and out."_

Harry and Ron blinked stupidly at the note.

"The Pharaoh…and the King of Games…" Harry said. "Just like the Marauders Map said. Its two different people…but Yugi was the one sending all the notes to Malik…there was no one else with him…was there?"

"It could be, but that's not the biggest thing," Hermione said. "Have you guys ever heard of the Millennium Ring?"

"No," Ron said immediately, but Harry's eyes opened wide.

"Yes we have!" he said. "On the train to school! When I asked Yugi about the pendant he wears around his neck he said it was called the Millennium Puzzle. And Ryou had the Millennium Ring."

Ron frowned. "That thing around his neck that looks like a giant dream catcher…that thing can read people's souls?"

"Apparently so," Hermione said. "After I translated these I went to the library last night to look for details on how you can read souls. I couldn't find anything. But then I remembered Ron had mentioned on the train that they looked Egyptian, so I cross referenced with any texts about ancient Egyptian artefacts…I only managed to find one book."

Ron looked extremely pleased that Hermione had remembered something he had said months ago that he himself barely remembered, but it did not last for long. Hermione had pulled a thick volume out of her bag and set it open on the table. Harry tilted his head to read the spine. The book was titled, "_A study of Ancient Egyptian games and pastimes."_

"The Millennium Items are part of a legend from Ancient Egypt," she explained. "Very little is known about them. Most people think they're fairytales, nothing more. The story goes that about the time of the Great Gap…"

"Excuse me?" Ron asked.

"Sorry," Hermione said. "It refers to a period of history where we don't know much about Egypt…around five thousand years ago. There were supposed to have been three Pharaoh's during this time, but no one knows anything about them. It's like they've been completely wiped from history…but anyway…"

She pointed at the book, to a section of text and continued to explain in a hushed voice.

"Most of the games in here were played by muggle Egyptians as well as witches and wizards. The interesting thing about Ancient Egypt is that even the muggles had an awareness of magic. They knew it existed. The Pharaoh's and those in high society were said to deal with it daily."

"So much for security," Ron snorted.

"Superstition and magic was a lot easier to explain back then Ron," Hermione pointed out. "Of course most muggles dismiss this all as myth. There are a few Egyptologists that do still pursue the legend, but most of them don't gain very many results. The last remotely linked case was a decade or so ago when an American Archaeologist, Professor Hawkins tried to prove the existence of monsters in Egyptian history, and the links they had with the games they played. He was laughed off though."

"Poor bloke," Ron muttered, and Hermione turned their attention back to the book.

"This section of the book focuses on magical games, played by the Pharaoh's and high ranking officials. It's very obscure and this is the only text I could find in the whole library that mentioned them…"

She cleared her throat and read from the book.

"…_Probably the biggest and most mysterious magical game of Ancient Egypt is the myth of the Shadow Games. Five thousand years ago, around the period of history known to Egyptologists (muggles who study Ancient Egyptian history) as the Great Gap, Egyptian nobles would play games of great and terrible power, known only as Shadow Games. These games were played for riches, glory and power, and were eventually misused and led to the near destruction of Egypt, until a powerful Pharaoh locked the magic away, imprisoning it for all eternity in seven Items of power, known only as the Millennium Items. However with the absence of information about the Great Gap, it is unknown if these games are fact or as most claim, merely legend. Without credible evidence, the story has been almost completely erased from history…"_

"Wow…" Ron muttered. Harry shook his head.

"But…no one is sure whether its fact or not Hermione," he pointed out. "Even the muggles don't believe it. And no one even knows what these Items look like, so we don't know if they're the same ones that we've seen."

Hermione nodded. "Normally I would agree with you Harry, but look at this…"

She turned the page, and pointed to a drawing of what was supposed to be the seven items, surrounded by hieroglyphs. The Puzzle and the Ring seemed to jump out from the page.

"That's them!"

"Wait…" Ron said slowly. "So you're telling us that Yugi and Ryou have two of these Items that are supposed to contain a magic so dangerous that it nearly destroyed Egypt?"

"If the book is to be believed," Hermione said rationally. "Certainly most experts seem to think it's just a myth."

"Yeah like the Chamber of Secrets was _just a myth_?" Ron pointed out. "Trust me, I've been to Egypt and there's a lot about the time of the Pharaohs that even wizards don't know about."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "And it would certainly explain how the Millennium Ring can read souls. And why those three seem to act so…dark all the time. Maybe the magic is influencing their behaviour and they don't realise it…"

Harry remembered his observations on the Quidditch pitch a few weekends ago. Yugi and Ryou had seemed very dark when they were duelling…almost like they were different people.

"But what about this Pharaoh and this thief?" he asked, remembering the notes. "Whoever they are, they seem to be able to talk to Yugi, Ryou and Malik and no one else can see them. They keep appearing on the Marauders Map whenever those three are around, and yet they're never visible in real life."

Hermione frowned again. "Maybe they're related to the Items or something. Maybe its some kind of magic that means only people who have them can see them…but then, how can Malik know about them? I've never seen him with anything that looks like an Item."

"Neither have we," Ron admitted. "But then again, he's a pretty secretive guy. He doesn't tell us anything about himself…well nothing that's happened before the last year anyway. All we know is that he's the fifth best duellist in the world, he has a brother and a sister, he's from Luxor, and his father carved hieroglyphs on his back when he was ten years old…"

He trailed off pushing the rest of his food away.

"We need to find out if Malik has an Item too," Hermione said determinedly.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Ron asked.

"Simple," Hermione said. "Ryou and Malik are in Divination and Ancient Runes last lesson. All you guys have to do is go and check the dormitory for anything gold and Egyptian looking…"

"You realise that 'Gold and Egyptian looking' counts most of Malik's jewellery alone," Ron pointed out. Harry however, was utterly speechless.

"You want us to go snooping through our dorm mates belongings?" he asked in disbelief. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Not snooping," she said. "I just want you to check their beds and stuff and see if you find anything suspicious. If they're half as messy as Ron, they probably don't keep any of their belongings in their trunks."

Ron opened his mouth to retort, but Harry stepped on his foot, not wanting to deal with an argument. Hermione did have a good point that Malik was probably the messiest person in the dorm, but he still did not like the idea of invading their privacy like that.

"I don't think it's a good idea," he said. "We shouldn't really be going through their stuff…"

"I know it's an invasion of their personal space," Hermione said. "And I'm not happy about it either. But if they're using dark magical Items in the castle, then I personally want to know about it. You two sleep right next to them, and if this magic is dangerous then you could be in trouble."

"You don't think…they would hurt the people in the school?" Ron asked.

"No Hermione," Harry shook his head. "They just don't seem like the type of people…"

"Yugi and Ryou don't," Hermione agreed. "But we've all seen that they don't always act like that. You saw Ryou the other week. He could have broken Malfoy's neck in two. And Yugi's been violent before. Remember? He punched Malfoy in the nose last term."

As much as Harry hated to admit it, he had his doubts, and now they were being fed. Despite the part of him that said that the transfers were good people, the fact that they appeared to have two Items, which were supposed to hold the key to a dark and powerful force, did not sit well with him. And then there was the fact that they had moment when they seemed so different. And Harry had to admit that when that happened, they did seem like people who could hurt others. Even Ryou had said once before "Every human being has darkness."

"Okay," he sighed. "We'll do it. But we're just going to look. We're not going to snoop through their trunks or anything."

Hermione sighed, but seemed to accept this term as they hurried off to a double Charms lesson. After all, it did not feel like snooping if they were just picking things up off the ground, and all three of them could not help but hope that they might be wrong about their new friends.

OOO

By the time it was last lesson, Harry, Ron and Hermione had barely seen Yugi, Ryou or Malik except for in class. Now that they had started duelling properly again, their homework and their fourth year units had been starting to get on top of them, a fact which they were all desperately trying to remedy. Even Ryou, who normally spent most of his time buried up to his nose in a book, had begun to slip.

It was for this reason, that Yugi did not join them during last lesson, as he was in favour of rushing off to the library to finish his Defence Against the Dark Arts essay. Ryou and Malik had headed off to their last lesson, Malik wishing for the first time in his life that he was being home schooled in the tombs again, and Ryou praying that he would be let out early from Divination. Hermione followed Malik, but not before giving Harry and Ron a significant look as she left.

"We'll see you later then Yugi," Ron said, but the tri coloured hair was already hurrying away down the corridor. Ron shrugged.

"Suppose we'd better go look then."

Harry nodded in dread before following his friend up to the seventh floor. He double-checked the map just to make sure that no one was around before they went in.

"It's ok," he said. "Everyone's in lessons except for Neville and Yugi, and they're both in the library."

Ron nodded, before turning to the Fat Lady.

"Little Kuriboh," he said, the password having been changed the previous day as a tribute to Malik's rather infectious singing that had been going on since the beginning of term. The Fat Lady gave them a suspicious look before letting them in, as though she could guess that they were up to no good.

The dormitory was, as Hermione had predicted, a mess, most of it belonging to the transfers. Robes and books were strewn everywhere, casualties of the chaos that morning when Yugi, Ryou and Malik had rushed out to hand their coursework in. The only living creature in the room was Bastet, who was curled up asleep on Ryou's bed. She did not stir as Harry and Ron immediately began sifting through the rubbish around Malik's bed, most of it being clothes.

"If you think about it," Ron said after almost twenty minutes of rummaging through Malik's belongings. "If they ask we can just say we decided to tidy up their stuff for them."

Harry refrained from pointing out that they would have to be very _very _bored to even consider doing that. And since he still had a half completed potions essay and transfiguration summary to write, he was certain that tidying the dormitory would not take priority.

"Personally," Harry said, wondering as he spoke why Hermione had not thought of this. "If I owned something that contained dark magic, I wouldn't leave it lying around for just anyone to find. I'd keep it on me at all times."

"Yeah but some of those items in the picture didn't look too inconspicuous," Ron pointed out. "I mean look at the Puzzle and Ring. They stick out like sore thumbs when Yugi and Ryou are wearing them…"

There was a clunking sound of something bouncing along the floor, as Ron picked up a set of robes. Something small, round and golden had slid out of a pocket and now lay on the floor, staring up at Harry in a way that sent chills down his spine.

"That looks like an Item to me," he said, crouching down and studying the object. It was about the size and shape of a ping-pong ball, though on one side, the Eye of Horus stared back. For some reason he was not eager to touch it. Ron meanwhile, had noticed something else and was fiddling with the neck of the robes he was holding.

"That's not Malik's," he said, reading the nametag in the robes. "These robes belong to Ryou."

Harry frowned. Ryou had two Millennium Items? So why didn't he keep this one on him too? He seemed very fond of the Ring, so why was this one still in the pocket of his robes? Did he not care for it as much? Or was he afraid of it? Harry was feeling less and less inclined to pick it up by the second.

"Those look like the robes he was wearing yesterday," Ron said, throwing the aforementioned clothing back onto Ryou's bed, not noticing that he had covered Bastet as he did. He crouched down next to Harry to get a look at the Eye. "He must have been in a hurry this morning and forgotten to put it away. Creepy looking thing isn't it?"

Harry nodded, and jumped as Ron got up and headed to his bed.

"What are you doing?" he asked as his friend returned with one of his gloves and an elastic band. Harry's eyes opened wide. "You're not going to take it? Ryou's going to notice!"

"Mate with all the pressure on him lately," Ron said. "I think he'll be too preoccupied to notice for a while. Besides it's not like we're going to take it forever. We're just going to show it to Hermione and then put it back. Maybe she'll know something about it."

Harry was reluctant, but before he could do much else, Ron had picked the Eye up in his gloved hand. Turning the garment inside out he secured the end with the elastic band so that it would not fall out, before pocketing it.

"C'mon then," Ron said, looking rather cheerful now that they had found something credible. "Let's go wait for Hermione so we can show her this."

Harry nodded, feeling the guilt he had felt earlier settle back into his stomach. It still felt like stealing, no matter what Ron said. As he thought this, Ron yelped and went sprawling onto the floor beside Ryou's bed. Pieces of paper and parchment went flying. Ron had caught his foot on a textbook lying by the side of Ryou's bed, and the contents that had been tucked in the front were now floating down onto their owner's bed. Bastet hissed and shot into the corner of the room by the door.

"Ouch!" Ron muttered, rubbing his nose as he sat up. He observed the mess. "Oh bloody hell…"

"We'd better tidy this up," Harry groaned. He knew that they would have to do some explaining to Ryou. At the very least he would want to know why his papers were out of order. Ron's eyes however, were skimming over one of the pieces of parchment.

"Hey mate, you'd better come look at this," he said. Harry crouched down by Ron's side and his eyes scanned the page.

"_1__st__ September 1996_

_Dear Amane…"_

"Ron this is a letter," Harry stated. "We shouldn't be reading this. It's private."

"Yeah, I know," Ron said, still reading on. "But there's stuff in here that explains everything…look."

And despite the little voice in his head that screamed at him to stop, Harry read on too.

"_1__st__ September 1996_

_Dear Amane_

_It's been a week since I've written to you. So much has happened. Yugi, Malik and I finally made it to Hogwarts. It looks nice enough. I hope the classes are okay. We have so much to catch up on in order to make it to sixth year standard. I wonder if Bakura will want to help."_

"Bakura?" Harry asked. "…Thief King Bakura?" Ron shrugged and motioned for Harry to keep reading.

"_We met some people on the train today. They seemed nice enough. Everything was fine until the Dementors showed up. I couldn't help but scream. I was so scared. For a minute I thought Bakura was there again, stabbing me with that knife of his. But it was only a bad memory (that's what Dementors do apparently). Bakura hasn't laid a hand on me since he got back from the Shadow Realm. And he can't take control of my body any more without me knowing."_

"Take control of his body!" Harry gasped. "Ryou…he's being possessed!"

"Looks like it," Ron said. "This 'Bakura' person seems like a nasty piece of work."

"Not according to Ryou…" Harry pointed, reading on to the next paragraph.

"_I really think he's changed Amane. He doesn't yell at me anymore. Before I was just a body to him. Now…well I'm still a body to him, but I think I understand him better. He does care about some things. He misses his family, I can tell. And he's been really gentle with Bastet ever since I got her. He seems less mean than before, like he's thinking about something other than taking over the world and killing Yugi's yami."_

"Yugi's yami?" Harry echoed. "What?"

Again, Ron just shrugged.

"_Or maybe its just wishful thinking on my part. I'll have to see I guess. Everything is going to change now we're here at Hogwarts. I can feel it._

_I hope you and mum are okay. I miss you both._

_All my love – Ryou"_

"Ryou's never mentioned his mother before," Ron recalled. "I wonder…d'you think this Amane person is his sister?"

"Could be," Harry said. "But why would he write all these letters and not send them to her? They're not much good tucked away in a textbook."

Ron shrugged and picked another one off the bed. Once again, Harry crowded around to read.

"_31__st __October 1996_

_Dear Amane_

_Well it turns out Bakura knows I've been writing to you. Apparently I can't keep anything secret from him. Strangely enough though he didn't laugh or taunt me as I thought he would. I thought he would tell me I'm weak, and that I'm not worthy to be his hikari."_

"What on earth is a hikari?" Ron asked.

"Sounds Japanese," Harry mused. "Maybe Hermione knows."

"_But all he told me was that I'm not the only one who's ever lost someone. I never said I was. If he talked to me I might actually understand him better. I know he's lost people. Heck he's five thousand years old, he's lost everyone. I just wish he'd understand that missing them doesn't make him weak."_

"Five thousand years old!" Ron gasped. "How can anyone be that old?"

"But if Ryou is being possessed like the first letter said," Harry pointed out. "Then this Bakura could be any age really…"

"_Yugi and Yami got into a fight earlier. Malfoy ran into us in the corridor. Yami wound up punching him."_

"Who's Yami?" Harry asked. "And it was Yugi who punched Malfoy that day wasn't it? Unless…"

"You don't think Yugi is possessed too do you?" Ron asked horrified.

"Could be," Harry said. "This Yami and Bakura seem close to them…maybe they're the people we've been seeing on the Marauders map!"

"You mean Thief King Bakura and the Nameless Pharaoh?" Ron asked. "It would make sense with Bakura. And the notes. Remember, they were calling each other by those code names? What if it wasn't Yugi and Ryou writing those notes? It could have been these two possessing them!"

"So Ryou would be the Change of Heart!" Harry said excitedly. "Bakura would be the King of Thieves. Yugi is the King of Games and Yami is the Pharaoh!"

Both seemed too wound up to say any more, so they both turned their attention back to the letters.

"_Yugi seemed really upset at dinner. But he's smiling in his sleep now, so I'm guessing they must have made up. I envy those two. I know I shouldn't. Yugi is my friend, and I suppose Yami is too. But I wish Bakura and I could be like that. Ironic, Bakura is the one who knows me better than anyone else probably, yet he's the one that makes me feel so alone. But he's my yami. No matter what he's done to me, or to my friends, he's the other half of my soul, and as weird as it sounds, I do care for him."_

Neither friend knew how to comment to this profound statement, so they moved on.

"_I did a tarot reading just now, like mum taught us both when we were little. I've had a horrible feeling of foreboding recently and I have a hunch it's a premonition of something big. I checked it out just now. Bakura agrees with me. Its dark and it has something to do with the Orichalcos. What if Voldemort thinks he's controlling the Orichalcos, but really the Orichalcos is controlling him? It could be far more dangerous if the magic has an agenda of its own._

_Something dark is coming for us Amane. I just hope that when it does, we're all ready to face it._

_Say hi to mum for me._

_Love Ryou."_

"Wow…" Harry said in astonishment. "That explains so much about them…Ron no! We've read enough!"

"Just one more!" Ron said, picking up the letter that was beside his left foot. "Hey this one was done during the holidays. Come to think of it, they never told us much about what they did over Christmas."

Harry looked at him sternly and Ron sighed.

"Come on," he said. "We might have found out who this thief and Pharaoh are, but we still don't know what those Millennium Items can do."

And once again, Harry's curiosity won out, and he read along with Ron.

"_23__rd__ December 1996_

_Dear Amane_

_I honestly don't know where to begin. My hands are still shaking. I can hear echoing bangs in my head. I don't know if it's my heart or whether it's Bakura throwing knives in his soul room (he does that when he's stressed)._

_I had everyone over to play Monster World today. We were just finishing up the game when an owl arrived with a red envelope. It was from Voldemort. You remember I told you what Bakura did to the Death Eaters that attacked us in Hogsmeade? Voldemort clearly was not amused, and he took his anger out on us. He knows about the Items too, or at least, he knows that we bear them and I guess he knows that the Ring can trap souls in other objects."_

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!" Ron said. "Back up. That Millennium Ring of his can not only read people's souls, but trap them inside other objects too?!"

Harry poked him and gestured back to the letter, the next line having caught his attention.

"_That's not what's upsetting me though Amane. With the letter came a used copy of the Seal of Orichalcos, with father's soul trapped in it. Father has been sealed. I don't know how Voldemort found him. He was still on the site in Egypt. Dumbledore was supposed to be watching him. How could they let him get taken?! He promised they would be safe! I know not every safety measure is foolproof, but I'm just so angry! I want to blame someone."_

Harry felt a surge of guilt and understanding. He had felt exactly the same way towards the headmaster after Sirius had died. And he and Ron had never thought to ask. It had been clear since the beginning of term that Ryou was not himself. Why had they not noticed it?

"_Bakura managed to break into my soul room (no surprises there. He is the King of Thieves, I doubt there's a lock in the whole world that he can't pick)."_

Once again, Harry and Ron exchanged looks. There was no doubt about it now.

"_He comforted me a bit before putting me onto the cushions and letting me go to sleep. It's still weird to think that he's being nice to me, but I'm happy all the same. He pulled me out of the dark bit of my soul room and said, "He's not gone Ryou. We'll get him back. We'll get him back and beat Voldemort's sorry ass into the Shadow Realm." I don't know if it's possible. Voldemort seems so far away. But maybe its time I started doing what Yugi does with Yami, and trusting Bakura._

_We will defeat him, and we will save the people that have been Sealed. We have to._

_I have to go soon. I'm going to stay with Malik for the night. They don't think I'm safe here. Bakura could protect me, but like I said, no safety measure is foolproof, and as Yami and Yugi told us earlier this term, if we lose an Orichalcos duel, the Seal takes one soul. And I don't want to carry on without Bakura._

_Watch over Father for me._

_Love Ryou."_

"…We never asked," Ron said, horrified. "He lost his father over the holidays and we never thought to ask about it…"

"No wonder he's been so upset," Harry said. He felt sick at himself. It did not matter any more that their friends were possessed, or that they carried Items with unimaginable destructive power. They had been ready to snoop through their friend's belongings and believe that they were involved in dark magic, when all the while Ryou had been going through his own personal hell…

"Harry? Ron? What on Earth are you doing?"

Harry felt his blood freeze. Of all the people that had to come into the dormitory, why did it have to be Ryou? The white haired boy looked worn out, and still mildly light headed from the fumes of Professor Trelawney's tower. Clearly the Divination Professor had let Ryou out early once he had finished the day's work. His eyes were widening at the sight of the mess around his bed, particularly when he noticed what the pieces of paper were.

_His letters to Amane…_

"Sorry Ryou," Ron said sheepishly. "I kinda tripped over one of your books and…well, everything went all over the place…"

He trailed off. Ryou dropped his bag at the door wordlessly. Harry thought that Ryou would groan or complain that it was more for him to tidy up. What he did not expect was for their friend to go white, and to stumble forward and scoop the letters up. Ron jumped as he snatched the paper that still rested in his hand. The red head swallowed before speaking up tentatively. Clearly having Ryou not say anything at all was shaking him up.

"Ryou…who's Amane?"

It was perhaps the worst thing he could have said. Ryou's eyes watered visibly, but he managed to hold the tears back. He snatched up another letter impatiently.

"My twin sister," he said shortly. Ron's eyes widened and Harry frowned.

"You never mentioned her before," he said, wondering once again why on Earth Ryou had all these letters to his sister but he had not sent them.

"She's dead Harry," Ryou said bluntly. He could feel his throat constricting, and he fought back the tears that threatened to make them known. "She died years ago. She died. My mother died. And since you've read the letter, you know now that my father has been sealed."

The way he spat out the last line made Harry feel instantly guilty. He knew they should not have read the letters, but he had ignored his sense in the search for answers.

"We're sorry," he said. "It was an accident…"

"Reading them was not an accident though was it?!" Ryou snapped, whirling on them both. "You could have put them back in the book and been done with it. But you had to pry!"

He threw the last of the letters into his trunk before slamming it shut.

"Happy now?" he asked, before turning to leave the room, grabbing his bag from the door as he went.

"Ryou," Ron called. "We're sorry okay…we didn't know…"

He trailed off. Ryou had paused with one hand on the door. Slowly his head turned to face them. Harry and Ron repressed a gulp each. Ryou's eyes, which had just been filled with tears, were now narrowed in anger, and instead of brown, they were a fierce scarlet.

"_Could it be…?" _Harry thought, his mind flashing back to the letters. "…_Bakura?"_

"Just," the thief growled slowly, trying to curb his temper. "Leave me alone."

And he stormed from the room, intending to get his host away from their nosy roommates as quickly as possible.

OOO

They were somewhere on the first floor, in a small storage room, not far away from the Transfiguration classrooms when Ryou found he could not hold it back any longer. He sank to the floor, in amongst the equipment that was used for Transfiguration lessons and cried bitterly into his knees.

"How could they? How could they?"

Bakura appeared next to him. Ryou did not need to be looking to know that the thief was miffed. He could feel it pulsing off the dark in waves.

"Those nosy little…"

He did not need to finish the sentence. It did not matter any longer. At the very least, Harry and Ron would have noticed Ryou mention Bakura in his letters. Their secret was blown again. It was only a matter of time before they came asking who Bakura was. That was…if Ryou ever spoke to them again.

"We trusted them Bakura…" Ryou mumbled, his voice muffled as his mouth was squished against his knees. "We trusted them and they looked…at the letters of all things…"

Bakura sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He really was no good at this caring malarkey. He growled in anger at Harry and Ron, at the same time that a fluffy head poked itself out of Ryou's bag. Bastet, who had clambered in when Ryou had dropped his bag by the door, crawled out and nudged Ryou's leg. The miserable boy dropped his knees and allowed her to crawl onto his lap.

"What do we do Bakura?" he asked his voice hoarse from his breakdown.

"I'm going to go get the Pharaoh," he said. "We'd better let the others know before Harry and Ron find them and pester them for answers."

Ryou nodded mutely, wobbling as he got to his feet. Bakura placed his hands on his shoulders and pushed him back down.

"Stay here for now Ryou. You're in no fit state to go anywhere," he said. He knew Ryou would need to calm down before they dealt with this or he would only get worked up again. Ryou nodded, and sank back down on the floor, too drained to protest.

"Okay. Don't be long."

Bakura nodded before leaving the room in spirit form. In some respects it was easier for him to travel like this than it was in Ryou's body. While he was not visible, and could not touch anything or interact with anyone save for other spirits or bearers of the Millennium Items, he could walk through walls just like ghosts. So as soon as he had hurtled up to the second floor, it was merely a matter of walking through the rooms until he got to the library. Another plus to being a disembodied spirit was that he could make as much noise as he wanted without getting smacked by the cranky librarian.

"Pharaoh!" he called, as soon as he was in the study area. "Pharaoh!"

He need not have shouted. As soon as he rounded one of the shelves, he found Yugi and Yami sitting surrounded by books. Yugi's quill was poised over his homework, and Yami was reading a book in interest, though apparently Yugi was the one turning the pages for him.

"Yes Bakura?" Yami asked, before noticing the conspicuous lack of his other half. "Where's Ryou?"

"Downstairs in a storage room on the first floor," Bakura said bluntly. "Harry and Ron may have found out about us."

This certainly caught both their attention. Yami's head bolted upright from his book so fast you could almost hear his neck creaking. Yugi dropped his quill.

"You mean they know…"

"About me and the Pharaoh," Bakura finished, quickly. "Yes. Our secret is officially out! Now will you just follow me?!"

Yugi was on his feet in an instant, shoving his homework in his bag and bolting from the aisle, leaving the books behind in a mess. They could hear the angry Madam Pince fuming that they had no respect for good reading material, but none of them cared. They were joined on the staircase by a swarm of students heading out of lessons as the bell rang.

"Bakura," Yami said, fighting to keep up with the thief. "How do they know?"

"They were snooping through some of Ryou's things," Bakura explained. "Long story short, they found something of Ryou's that has basically blown it for us."

He had no intention of telling the Pharaoh and his hikari about Ryou's letters. That was his light's secret to tell.

"In there…" Bakura trailed off as he realised something. The door was open. And from the voice that was not Ryou's, the hikari was not alone.

"Not so tough now are you? What happened to me being 'very very sorry'? Or was that the thief I was speaking to?"

The jeering drawl did not need long to identify. Bakura was the first in, bursting through the door and returning to the Ring. He immediately took over the body and delivered a kick, sending Malfoy flying out of the room and into the corridor.

"Back off my light Malfoy!" he snarled, the Eye of Horus flashing on his forehead. The Slytherin just sneered.

"Your 'light' if that is what you chose to call him is pathetic! Hiding in the corner crying! What's wrong with poor Ryou? Missing his poor fa…"

"Don't you dare!" Yami shouted, having taken over from Yugi at the first sight of violence. He drew his wand, but Malfoy was quicker.

"Expelliarmus_!"_

Yugi's wand flew from the Pharaoh's hand and landed in the corner of the ceiling, tangled in a cobweb. Yami cursed. He was far too short to reach that! Bakura either did not notice or care. He was pulling out his knife and squaring up to Malfoy.

"You're asking for me to hang you in the Great Hall by your own entrails!" the thief snarled.

"Bring it!" Malfoy taunted. "I'm not afraid of a five thousand year old dead guy! _Secudolor!_"

Bakura dropped and rolled out of the way of the spell. There was a shriek of pain from behind him and he turned to watch in horror. The cutting curse he had succeeded in avoiding had slammed into Bastet, who now lay twitching on the floor. The curse had sliced a gaping would in her side, and even as Bakura watched in horror, a trail of blood was beginning to make its way to the floor. In his mind, he could hear Ryou's screams.

"To harm a chosen of the Gods is death!" Yami roared. Bakura let out a scream of rage, but before he could raise his knife and attack, Malfoy waved his wand again. Bakura was blasted back into the storage room, where he lay dazed alongside his injured pet. Behind him, Yami felt for his deck, intending to find a spell or trap that would help him, but once again, Malfoy pointed his wand at him and blasted him into the wall of the corridor. The cards went flying, Yami felt stars twinkle in front of his vision, and he knew his Aibou's body would be bruised after this.

"…_How dare he! How dare he hurt us?!"_

Malfoy was advancing on Bakura, wand still drawn, a look of triumph on his face. He was clearly enjoying the chance to get even at the spirit for humiliating him the other week. He looked musingly at the Millennium Ring and reached for it. Before he could take it however, there was a glow from behind him. Yugi…no, the Pharaoh, Malfoy corrected himself, was getting to his feet. The third eye on his forehead was glowing more vibrantly than before.

"You have injured my friends," the Pharaoh stated, as shadows began to seep into the corridor. "You have harmed a creature of the Gods. Now you must pay. Malfoy, IT'S GAME TIME!"

OOO

The Fat Lady swung open, and Harry, Ron and Hermione walked out into the corridor, all looking exceptionally depressed. Hermione had returned from Ancient Runes, having left Malik to go find his friends in the library. As soon as she had entered the Common Room, Harry and Ron had blurted out all they had found, as well as what had happened with Ryou afterwards. Hermione's initial shock and joy at the discovery, was quickly eclipsed by the horror at how Ryou must have felt. She, like the two boys, felt very bad for ever judging their friends. And so, Hermione had made a decision.

"We need to go find them," she had said in a sad voice. "We need to find them and tell them we're sorry. We'll explain everything and hope that they can forgive us."

So, with their heads hung, the three of them trudged away from the portrait hole, Harry pulling the Marauders Map out of his pocket.

"Any sign of them?" Ron asked dully. Harry scanned the library and shook his head.

"No, they're not in the library. They must have gone somewhere else."

He quickly looked over the other floors, until he found two dots that he recognised.

"Hold it," he said. "I've found them. Yugi is heading to the first floor…Thief King Bakura and the Nameless Pharaoh are with him…Ryou's on the first floor in a storage room by the Transfiguration department…Malfoy's with him!"

He said the last part urgently, and immediately took off down the corridor drawing his wand as he went. Ron and Hermione followed, both looking equally anxious as they plunged down the staircases, Harry still glancing at the map occasionally.

"They're still there…no, Ryou's gone and the Thief King is there instead…Yugi's behind Malfoy…no he's the Pharaoh now…oh Merlin this is confusing!"

As they entered the second floor however, Harry saw something that made him stop dead. Ron crashed into him and almost pulled Hermione over onto the floor.

"Harry!" he said reproachfully.

"They've all gone!" Harry said in alarm. Hermione and Ron looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, the storage room and the corridor were now completely empty. Three dots, which had stood there recently, had completely vanished.

"We've got to get down there," Hermione said. "Who knows what's going on?"

They bolted down the last set of stairs and past the Transfiguration department. Fortunately now that lessons had finished, there were very few students around. As soon as they arrived in the corridor, Harry stopped in his tracks again. This time however, Ron and Hermione froze too.

"Whoa…" Ron said.

"Hermione," Harry said slowly. "Please tell me you know what that is."

Hermione shook her head. "I have no idea."

Looming before them, cutting the rest of the corridor from view, was a giant black and purple magical barrier, which was crackling and spitting sparks occasionally. The magical energy raised hairs on the back of the trio's necks. Whatever it was, it was not good.

OOO

Meanwhile inside the Shadow Realm…

"What is this?" Malfoy demanded angrily, looking at the surrounding shadows, which had cut off the rest of the corridor from view. Indeed there was no corridor anymore. They seemed to be standing at the end of a long brick walkway. At the other end, was Yugi's wand, still caught up in cobwebs, dangling higher than any normal person could reach. As he spoke, Malfoy felt his wand shoot from his grasp. He lunged for it, but missed, electing a dark chuckle from the person who called himself the Pharaoh.

"Here are the rules," Yami said, a malicious gleam in his crimson eyes. It had been so long since he had had a decent Shadow Game. It felt just like the old days when he had first been released from the Puzzle. He felt the shadows wrap themselves lovingly around his arms, glad to be in the presence of their master.

/_Other me…_/ he heard his Aibou's frightened voice and the haze of power lifted from his eyes slightly.

/_It's all right Yugi. Everything will be fine_/

He felt his other half get nervous, so he quickly relinquished control, certain that his Aibou could survive the Shadow Realm. His hikari had grown stronger since the duel with Pegasus, and he could now survive for much longer in this realm without collapsing, especially since he was not providing energy for their duel monsters this time. Yugi took control, and Yami appeared in his own solid form. Here in the Shadow Realm, both the yami's and hikari's appeared solid, though in fact this was not really real at all. In the same way in their soul rooms, only their souls were present, in the Shadow Realm and Shadow Games only the soul truly entered. This meant, for Yami and Bakura, that they could appear separate from their hosts if they needed to.

Malfoy gasped as the two split, clearly temporarily forgetting that they were two people. Yugi dashed straight to Bakura, ignoring Malfoy. Yami shot the Slytherin a deadly look before continuing to speak.

"Our wands are suspended at the other end of the walkway," he gestured to the two wands, which now hanging in identical sections of cobwebs. "The first one to summon theirs back to them non verbally wins."

Malfoy was half tempted to snort and demand that the spirit of the Puzzle undo whatever it was that he had done to bring them to this place. But there was a challenging glare in the Pharaoh's eyes, and he found he could not back down from it. Besides, he had a lot more training in non verbal spells than the other had. He knew that the transfers were only up to fourth year standard, so there was no way that this spirit could do what the game rules stipulated.

"We cannot walk to the wands, nor are we allowed to utter a single sound once the game begins," Yami continued. "You will also find that, there is a certain _snag _to summoning the wands back. If your concentration slips you will find it all the more difficult. So what do you say Malfoy?"

"Hmph. I'm not going to lose to a fourth year student like you," the Slytherin sneered. "What happens to the loser?"

"The loser must play a Penalty Game," Yami said.

"Which is…?" Malfoy questioned. The Pharaoh just smirked.

"You'll see," he promised. "So, shall we begin?"

Over in the corner, Bakura was stirring. He felt magic, the warm caress of the Shadow Realm cloaking him like a blanket, and he snapped his eyes open.

"Bakura?" Yugi's voice echoed concern, and the thief focused. "Are you alright?"

A grunt was the only response he received, and a second later, Bakura separated from Ryou. Yugi immediately tended to his friend, who was pale and shivering.

"No…" he moaned, his eyes tightly shut, tears trickling down his face. "Bastet…"

"Ryou," Bakura was fully awake now. "Hikari open your eyes."

Bakura helped Ryou into his arms before taking stock of the situation. He summed it up pretty quickly as he spotted Malfoy and Yami. The Pharaoh opened his mouth.

"Game start!"

OOO

"Don't touch it Ron," Hermione warned, as the redhead approached. "It might be dangerous."

"Hermione I'm not stupid," Ron said wearily. "I wasn't going to touch it."

"What is it?" Harry asked, walking from one end of the giant barrier to the other.

"I honestly have no idea," Hermione said. "I've never seen or read about anything like this before."

"D'you think it was Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"I doubt it," Hermione said. "This feels way more powerful than anything Malfoy could do. No I reckon its something the Pharaoh or the Thief King did."

"You think it's…dangerous?" Harry asked.

"If they can possess people," Hermione said. "They could certainly do this…"

She trailed off as the sound of running footsteps appeared. Harry immediately pulled the Invisibility Cloak from his bag and threw it over the three of them. They all had to crouch to make sure that their feet were covered.

"It's Malik," he whispered, checking the map. Sure enough, the platinum blonde mane of hair whipped around the corner.

"Found it!" the Egyptian cheered. "Knew I felt Shadow Magic…"

He trailed off and took a good look at the barrier. Then he pouted.

"Aww man!" he wailed. "They started a Shadow Game without me! How rude!"

He trailed off smirking, before pulling out the Millennium Rod from his pocket.

"Well then, I'll just have to gatecrash! Hope I didn't miss the good stuff!"

And without another word, the Eye of Horus glowed on his forehead and he stepped through the shadow and into the game.

"Did you see that?!" Ron gasped as soon as he was out of sight. Harry pulled the cloak off and they strode back to the barrier. This time, Harry touched it gently, pressing his hand through it. To his shock, his hand came back out right next to him. Ron and Hermione gasped and leaped away.

"Sweet Merlin!" Ron yelped, as Harry quickly withdrew his hand. He studied it cautiously as if expecting it to be damaged.

"It's okay," he said. "But why can't we get through? Malik did."

"Maybe you need to have a Millennium Item," Ron suggested before smacking himself in the forehead. "That must have been what Malik had in his hand just now! It had the Eye of Horus on the front of it."

"Couldn't we use the thing we found earlier?" Harry asked. "What did you say it was called Hermione?"

They had shown Hermione the object they had found in the dormitory when they had explained to her, but she had not done any more than examine it. Their friend shook her head.

"The Millennium Eye," she said. "I don't think we should. Whatever's going on in there must be really dangerous if it's sealed off from other people."

"I'm not sticking my hand in that," Ron said firmly. "Millennium Eye or not."

All three of them looked at the barrier, wondering what on Earth could be going on in there.

"So what do we do?" Harry asked. Of course, neither of them answered his question.

OOO

The silence in the Shadow Game was deafening, and the players were beginning to sweat.

Yami's eyes were focused on his wand, where it hung tangled in the spider's web. Next to him, he could almost sense Malfoy's nerves. The boy was squinting in effort to get his wand to move, his breathing beginning to become more and more laboured as he concentrated on trying to summon his wand. As every second passed he could feel the weight of the Pharaoh's words.

"_The loser must play a Penalty Game…"_

Who knew what that meant?

Next to Ryou, Bakura was tense. He wanted nothing more than to kill Malfoy with his own two hands. But he knew that the Shadow Game would turn on anyone who tried to interfere. Even he, the very Darkness himself, could not stop a Game once it had been called. He just had to hope that the Pharaoh had not lost his touch.

"Yami…" Ryou said faintly. "I don't feel so good…"

"It's the Shadow Realm," Yugi said in concern. "It's draining him. It used to do it to me. I guess I've grown a bit more tolerant. But why is it affecting Ryou so badly? He's been here before…more than I have I'll bet."

Bakura swallowed. He knew it was his own fault that Ryou was having such a hard time. The only times his hikari had been here, he had either been a pawn in a Shadow Game, such as a lead figurine in Monster World, or at Duelist Kingdom where he had been trapped in the Change of Heart card, or in a Penalty Game. The last time he and Ryou had been sent there was after Bakura had lost the duel to Marik on the Battle City blimp. Locked in their own separate Penalty Games, Bakura had not been able to help him, nor, the spirit reckoned, would he have cared enough to do so back then. Ryou would not last too much longer here, and he could tell for all Yugi's resistance to it, he would not last indefinitely either. The Pharaoh would have to wrap this up quickly.

Yami's wand slowly twitched and the Pharaoh smirked, thinking of the summoning charm with all his might. Malfoy's lips were compressed together, and his whole body was trembling with effort.

"Y-yami…" Ryou struggled to sit up, vaguely surprised to find that Bakura had his arms around his shoulders. "What's going on?"

"The Pharaoh challenged Malfoy to a Shadow Game," the thief reported. "Hopefully we won't be here for too much longer…just relax Ryou."

He turned his head to look at Bastet, who was still bleeding, before fishing around in his deck.

"Change of Heart," he whispered. The shadows seemed to shimmer and ripple, and before them a tall woman in white robes appeared. One of her wings was white and feathered, and the other was black and leathery. She clutched a heart in her hands, and smiled down at the three people on the floor.

"You sent for me masters?" she asked, looking between both Ryou and Bakura. The thief answered quickly.

"We did," he turned and pointed to Bastet. "We need you to take Bastet out of the Shadow Realm. Find the man who goes by the name of Hagrid, and ask him to help her."

The angel nodded, before sweeping over to the injured cat. Gently, so as not to injure her further, she cradled the limp form before vanishing back into the darkness.

"Will she…?" Ryou trailed off, looking helplessly at the spot where his beloved pet had been lying. Bakura nodded sharply, turning his attention back to the Shadow Game.

The wands were on the ground now, both still attached to the corner however by a long thin strand of web, that shone like a light in the darkness of the shadows. As they were dragged across the ground, returning to their masters by will, the web stretched tighter and tighter. As the onlookers watched, Malfoy flinched, and the web seemed to spring back slightly, dragging his wand with it.

"_Ah, the snag_," Bakura thought. "_As their concentration slips, the wand is pulled back by the web. The Pharaoh might be a prick, but he does do pretty good Shadow Games."_

"Hey did I miss the party?" came a voice from nearby. Everyone except the Pharaoh jumped in alarm, and Malfoy's wand shot back an inch before he managed to regain control over it. They turned to see Malik approaching, the Eye of Horus still shining on his forehead. It dimmed however as he approached the group.

"Shh!" Bakura snapped, gesturing at the game. Malik took in the way the Pharaoh was standing, arms folded and a smirk on his face, his eyes focused on the wand, along with Malfoy, who's attention had gone completely back to the task at hand, and he smirked in realisation.

"Ah…I see. Did I miss anything good?"

"No, now shut up," Bakura snapped. "We're all trying to watch the show."

Yugi and Ryou exchanged looks. Clearly watching a Shadow Game in which someone would inevitably lose their souls or minds was not their idea of a show. But now was really not the time to be stating this.

Yami's wand was ten feet away, with Malfoy's only a few feet behind. The biggest test to the challenge would be getting them to jump into their hands. The Pharaoh was smirking as the stick of wood slid a little closer. Malfoy's face tensed even further, getting more and more frustrated and desperate as Yami's wand neared its destination.

/_Malfoy doesn't look good_/ Ryou observed.

/_Any second now_/ Bakura said, anticipation laced through his voice. /_Any second, and Malfoy is going to snap…_/

Yami's wand twitched, and Malfoy's wand slipped backwards by a few inches.

/_Just a little more_/ Bakura thought.

Yami's wand twitched again, lifting off the floor an inch before landing back with a clatter. Malfoy's wand shot backwards another five inches.

"Come on," Malik breathed, the tension starting to build up.

Yami's wand slowly rose up…. inch by inch…closer to its master's hand…held only in line by the thin line of spider web…

Malfoy's mask of concentration began to crack. He let out a frightened whimper.

/_He's going…_/ Ryou muttered, finding this almost painful to watch.

/_He's so gone…_/ Bakura hissed, his lips twitching into a smirk.

Malfoy's wand leaped and shot back, two…three…five feet. Malfoy swore aloud before racing after it, his footsteps clattering along the stone. He seized the wand, still attached to the web, and raised it above his head.

"I don't need to win a game to beat you! Cruc…"

The words died on his lips. His opponent, wand in hand, Eye of Horus on his forehead, was smirking calmly.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to follow the rules."

Malfoy's breath caught in his throat, as he felt something cold and slimy slither down his right arm. He looked up to see the web that had been attached to his wand was growing, lengthening and branching off like a creeper vine, wrapping his arm up in its clammy embrace.

"The doorway to darkness is open."

The smirk on Yami's face remained there, frozen neutrally as he watched his opponent struggle against the web, which was now wrapping itself around his shoulders, torso, and waist. The boy's scream was choked as the now thick silvery substance encircled his neck like a python.

"Malfoy," Yami said. "As you are caught up in a web of power and abuse towards others, you shall now experience that web's hold for yourself."

The Eye on his forehead flared angrily.

"PENALTY GAME!"

The terrified Slytherin let out a final scream, as his mouth was blocked and the rest of his body was wrapped in the tight coils of the web, smothering, dragging him down into his own personal nightmare…

The Eye on Yami's forehead died and Yugi raced to his side.

"Yami? Other me? Are you alright?"

The Pharaoh looked down at him smiling.

"I'm fine Yugi," he said, shaking his head as if to clear himself from a daze.

"You scared me," Yugi said bluntly. Yami looked shamefaced.

"I'm sorry Yugi…"

The hikari shook his head.

"I don't approve," he said. "I never approve of violence, you know that. But I trusted you enough that you've left him some chance."

Yami nodded. "I have. He has his chance in the Penalty Game. And I do believe that he may well escape from it."

"What do you mean?" Bakura said suspiciously. "This isn't a permanent Penalty Game?"

Yami frowned. "I have developed some amount of leniency since I was released from the Puzzle Bakura," he said dryly. "As the name suggests, it is a game. Malfoy shall have a chance to win his way out of it. The question is, if he learns his lesson in time to get out of there. I did the same to Kaiba after he lost to me at Death T."

"I think it's a good idea personally," Malik said, observing the spot where Malfoy had been wrapped in the web, as though surveying a particularly interesting museum artefact. "He'll learn something from this and hopefully be better for it. And we won't have to put up with him any more."

"Okay so now that the games are over can we please leave?" Bakura asked curtly. "Because it may have escaped all of your notices, but my hikari is not exactly well suited for the Shadow Realm."

He motioned to Ryou, who looked paler and was drawing breath with apparent difficulty. Bakura helped him up.

"Oh Ra, I'm sorry Ryou!" Yami apologised. "I didn't think when I called the game…I just got angry and pulled everyone in. Sorry about that."

"It's fine," Ryou said. "Can we just please leave? This place gives me the creeps."

Yami nodded and the Millennium Puzzle glowed, dispersing the black shadows. Ryou, Bakura and Malik, as the spectators vanished first, leaving Yami and Yugi left in the darkness. The hikari looked at the yami and the Pharaoh ceased his dispelling of the darkness.

"You haven't played a Shadow Game for years," he said. Yami sighed and nodded.

"Yugi…" he trailed off shaking his head. "No. There's nothing I can say. I shouldn't have done it."

He looked down at the ground. Yugi just stared with a neutral expression.

"I was always in the dark when you played Shadow Games," he said. "I'd never remember when you took over." He swallowed and looked at the spot where Malfoy had been standing.

"Aibou," Yami said. "When I was first released, I challenged people who hurt you. I thought that I was dispensing justice, giving them what they deserved, punishing anyone who could dare to hurt the light who had released me."

He took a deep breath.

"I did not care what happened to their souls," he said. "And I do not know how many of them are still suffering for it now…but now…"

"Now," Yugi said. "I know you. You're still the darkness."

Yami's shoulders slumped and Yugi stepped forwards.

"But you're not the same darkness who came out of the Puzzle all those years ago," the hikari continued. "You've changed. I am grateful Yami. I'm more grateful to have you as my other self than I am for anything else. And I'm grateful that you have changed, and that we can work together. I know you've given Malfoy a chance to escape…because we both know he deserves another chance. And you would not have done it if you did not believe that he could succeed in getting out of it."

Yami nodded, and Yugi smiled for the first time since entering the Shadow Realm.

"I can't understand darkness sometimes," Yugi admitted. "But I wouldn't be light if I did. So I trust that you always know what's right. That's why I'm not mad at you for calling a Shadow Game."

"Thank you Yugi. For understanding."

"Any time partner."

OOO

"What's taking them so long?" Malik muttered, standing outside the bubble with Ryou in the corridor, just outside the barrier. Next to him, Ryou rubbed his head, feeling the slowly developing headache, bought on from stress, the Shadow Realm, and the pain of having his body slammed backwards into a wall taking hold. As Malik spoke however, the barrier rippled and vanished, leaving three of them standing in the middle of the corridor on the first floor. Malfoy lay behind them, his body now temporarily soul less.

"Well I did warn him after the Quidditch match that bullying only brings you more pain," Malik said, casting the comatose Slytherin a look. "Let's see if he learns that."

"We'd better leave," Ryou said. "Before someone finds him and blames us."

It was unusual to hear Ryou suggest something so close to heartless, but he looked extremely tired, and everyone guessed that he was worrying about Bastet, so they turned and left the corridor with all due haste.

From behind a statue, around the corner, an invisibility cloak was pulled off, and Harry, Ron and Hermione peeked around the corner of the corridor. Hermione gasped.

"Oh my God! Malfoy!"

For once in his life, Harry found himself feeling horror on behalf of the blonde Slytherin. His rival lay on the floor, his face contorted in horror twitching and whimpering occasionally in what sounded like fear.

"Merlin!" Ron said. "What did they do to him?"

Harry's ears caught the sound of footsteps and he quickly waved the cloak.

"Quickly! We don't want to be discovered here any more than they did!"

He ushered his startled friends back under the cloak, and they vanished from the corridor just as a group of Slytherin girls passed. Their screams of terror were heard through out the castle, sending shivers down everyone's spines.

* * *

**A/N: **(Barricades door from rabid Malfoy fans)

I'm bringing him back! I promise! Don't kill me!

Okay the Millennium Item explanation was borrowed heavily from the Anime. I personally prefer LittleKuriboh's version of it in YuGiOh the Abridged Movie. It sounds a lot more interesting when you say "_Thousands of years ago, people were very bored because cards games hadn't been invented yet…"_

Oh and speaking of everyone's favourite parodist, I hope you all noticed my little dedication to him by means of the Gryffindor password!

I know the whole 'explanation in a random library book' seems like a really lame piece of plot exposition, but trust me, there is more to this information than Harry, Ron and Hermione know. And there is a rational explanation as to how the information came to the author's attention. Keep reading my pretties and all shall be explained!

Does it make me a total sadist if I loved writing that Shadow Game? (Ducks rotten vegetables thrown by Malfoy fans) ack! Okay I'm sorry! The Shadow Game and Penalty Game were mostly based off the Games in Season 0 and in the manga.

Bakura: (walks in smugly flicking his knife)

Mei: Bakura…have you been terrorising the ladies again?

Bakura: So what if I have?

Mei: Oh for the love of Ra…

Bakura: Ra won't save the old ladies y'know…

Mei: (summons Nephthys with a glare)

Isis: (pulls out Gravity Bind) Okay you hot heads, leave each other ALONE! Unless you want me to fight you both. (gives a look that is very creepy)

Bakura: As if mortals can stand up to…(trails off as Nephthys attempts to blast him)

Mei: The next shot is all you Isis.

Isis: Thank you Mei! (evil smile toward Bakura) Let me introduce you to my sisters, Harpie Ladies 1, 2 and 3. Its open hunting season girls!

Bakura: Ooooh damn….(runs from the room as all four Winged Beasts attack)


	20. Chapter 20: Claws and Talons

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or YuGiOh. No steel chairs were harmed in the creation of this fic.

**Chapter 20: Claws and Talons**

Joey slammed his shoe locker closed and pulled on his trainers. Around him, the rest of the students were chatting happily, pulling on their own shoes, and packing up the books they would need for what remained of the weekend. Revision for the end of year exams was starting to pile up, and Joey was relieved that tomorrow was Sunday. He wanted to write to Yugi and reassure him that everyone was fine. Maybe he'd poke that guy at Kaiba Corp who worked for the Ministry into loaning him his owl.

Sighing, he picked up his school bag and headed for the doors. It seemed so different without Yugi, Ryou and Malik. It was amazing what a change three people could bring. Without Malik there was far less to laugh at. There was no sense of calm and order without Ryou around. And Yugi…well, Joey missed meeting his spiky headed little friend on their way to school every morning. He missed his good heart, his kindness, and his strength of character. He missed talking to the Pharaoh too.

He turned through the school gates, and started his way down the road, wondering how long it would take him to plough through his homework so he could start the letter. Two hours maybe? If his father were home though he would have to get a meal on the table for him, which would delay him further. Maybe he could call Serenity after and see how she was getting on…

Joey and his father lived a ten minute walk away from the school. Admittedly it was the less friendly side of town, but it was home, where Joey had grown up for a majority of his life. Despite the dodgy surroundings, Joey felt calm and a sense of safety that only being at home could bring. He had reached his front door, and was fishing around for his keys when he first noticed that something was out of the ordinary.

The apartment shared by he and his father was at the end of the second floor stairwell. He had a pretty good view of this side of town from up here, a fact for which he was grateful. With so many unsavoury people around, it made it easier to spot them coming for you if you were a few floors up. The downside of course was that he was often forced to drag his father up the stairs if he came home too intoxicated to walk safely. On the corner of the street, Joey was sure he could feel someone looking at him in a way that sent shivers down his spine. He gripped his keys and unlocked the door.

It was then that he noticed the next odd thing.

He had been so distracted by the feeling of being watched that he had failed to notice the envelope tacked to the front door. He tugged it free and examined it. It was addressed to him. The paper inside was thin and poor quality, and the characters were scribbled messily.

His blood froze.

"_Wheeler_

_We've got something very precious of yours. If you want to see her again, be at the warehouse on Seventy Six Street Industry Way at five o clock. Bring your duel disk. If you don't, your precious girl gets sealed."_

There was no signature, but Joey didn't need one. There was only one thing that 'sealed' could possibly mean. He felt thin card in the envelope and pulled out a Duel Monsters card, thinking who on Earth they could have taken from him. How many people were precious to him that were girls? Serenity…Tea…?

He flipped the card over and the truth slammed into him like a train.

"Oh no…God no!"

OOO

Seto Kaiba was not having a good day.

He had had a feeling ever since he woke up that morning (after only four hours of sleep) that the day was not going to be a good one. The first sign of this was that Mokuba had bribed the kitchen staff into giving him coffee. After downing his own cup and managing to pry his excitable little brother down from the ceiling (how he had got up there in the first place was beyond him), he had received a very anxious phone call from security at Kaiba Corp saying that someone had tried to break into the building not half an hour ago. The irate CEO had ordered the building to be checked. According to security footage the thieves had not made off with anything, as the security systems had activated as soon as they set foot on the property.

Frustrated with these events, the brothers had set off, Mokuba still twitching in excitement, and Seto with his phone plastered to his ear, demanding an update on the situation. By the time Mokuba had been dropped at school and the limo had arrived at Kaiba Corp, the security footage had been backed up and was ready for the CEO's inspection. Kaiba had been suitably unnerved after seeing it. The people who had broken in were the same people who had been stalking he, Yugi, and all his little cheerleaders for the past few months. The same ones who were using the Seal of Orichalcos in duels.

Wondering what on Earth he had done to deserve this madness, Kaiba had quickly ordered a check over the duel disk systems, and doubled checked that the programs he had placed to screen all the duels were working. If someone using the Seal was in the area, he wanted to know about it, and the easiest way to do that would be to monitor all active duels and get someone to alert him if there was a problem.

This would have worked well, were it not for what happened when he got to school at quarter to twelve that morning. It seemed the headmaster had finally had enough of him turning up late, and had pressed this message onto the faculty too. Though school was not mandatory for all students on a Saturday, Kaiba missed so much of it that he was put in the weekend classes to make up the minimum hours. Even some of the more timid teachers were clamping down on him.

It had finally come to a head during last lesson, when Kaiba had his phone confiscated after it rang and disrupted the lecture. The teacher's curt reply was that Kaiba Corp could manage while he was in Duel Monster tournaments, so it could manage fifty minutes while she gave the days lesson. Kaiba was furious, and infinitely glad that it was Sunday the next day, when he could sort out all the mess that the week had left behind.

He stepped out of the limo, in front of the tall skyscraper, wondering how it could possibly get any worse now. Of course as every wise human being knows, as soon as you think this, the answer is always yes, it can get lots worse. The first Kaiba knew about this was when he stepped into the cool air conditioned lobby of the building. Mokuba appeared out of nowhere, still wearing his school own uniform, his face pinched in worry.

"Seto!" he called, getting his brother's attention. The CEO blinked. If Mokuba was here then there must be something big going on. He immediately cursed the teacher who had taken his phone.

"We've been trying to contact you for the last hour!" the boy admonished. "No one could get hold of you…"

"My phone was confiscated Mokuba," he said. The boy's forehead wrinkled.

"Wow, that teacher must really hate you…anyway, you're here now. Just after three o clock the duel disk system picked up on someone using the Seal."

Kaiba's attention ticked up a few notches.

"Who was it?" he asked. Mokuba shook his head.

"We don't know, the registrations were encrypted. They must have done something when they broke in this morning after all…"

Now Kaiba was very mad. These people broke into his building and screwed up his system in a way that even he had not been able to pick up on? No one messed with Seto Kaiba's computer system and got away with it! No one damn it!

"We've got everyone working on tracing who the duellists were," Mokuba reported, as they both made their way to the elevator. "The location was downtown, not far from the docks."

"Who won the duel?" Kaiba asked urgently, as the doors closed and the elevator began to ascend.

"No one," his brother replied. "It ended in a draw. Apparently the victim knew or figured out how to get out of it safely."

Making a mental note to write to Yugi later once he had found out more, Kaiba nodded, feeling relieved that at least no one had lost their souls. However this did mean that the person who had played the Seal was still at large, and therefore still a threat.

As they left the elevator and headed for the registration office, one of the technicians came tearing around the corridor, a computer printout in her hands.

"Master Kaiba," she gasped. "We've traced one of the duel disks."

"I asked for both to be traced," Mokuba said frowning.

"Understood sir," the technician assured him. "We tried, but the duellist who played the illegal card is not registered with Kaiba Corp. We're checking with other compatible organisations around the world right now…"

Kaiba, who had snatched the printout from the employee's hand, took one look at who the disk was registered too, and growled out one word.

"Wheeler…"

"What?" Mokuba asked. "You mean Joey was the one attacked? But wasn't he in school with you? I thought he had extra English classes on Saturday?"

Kaiba however had turned to the flustered employee. "Keep tracing the second duel disk. And get someone to monitor Joey Wheeler. Come straight to me if he starts duelling anyone!"

"Yes sir!" the technician replied, before racing off back the way she had come.

"Seto," Mokuba said urgently. "Who was attacked? Was it Joey? Or Serenity?"

"Worse," Kaiba muttered, turning and heading back to the elevator, with the intention of going straight to his office and ordering someone to pay the Mutt's house a visit. This attack had _trap_ written all over it.

"It was Mai Valentine."

OOO

Joey knew of course that Mai was back in town. After a few months of silence following the madness with Dartz, she had written to him, apologising for everything she had done to him. Joey of course, had forgiven her. He understood why she had not come straight back after everything that had happened. He could give Mai all the space she needed if it meant she might come back one day.

So he had been keeping an ear open for any news of her. She had gone back to America for a bit, before touring around the rest of the world. She had sweeped the Championships in Europe, and Joey had not missed a single publicised duel. She had been in Rome when Joey had called her up a few months ago to warn her about the Orichalcos. She had been alarmed, but had promised to be careful.

A few weeks ago however, Joey had received another call. This time, Mai told him that she was planning on coming back. Joey had been thrilled, but had not asked to meet her, figuring that she might need some more space before they saw each other again. Now he was cursing himself for ever thinking of this. He had been so caught up with the idea of her coming back, being so close to him, that he had forgotten that she would be coming back right into a danger zone.

He clutched the Duel Monsters card in his hand. It was Cyber Harpie Lady, Mai's favourite monster. He had run out of the apartment with it still clutched in his fingers, after throwing on his street clothes and grabbing his duel disk. It had been four fifteen when had found the note, and it had taken him half an hour just to run downtown. He knew where he was heading of course. The warehouse in the note was painfully familiar to him. It was the building that Hirutani's gang had used as a torture chamber. He did not want to go back there, but he would have to if he wanted to get Mai out.

It was ten to five when he finally made it to the warehouse. It looked just as it had the last time he had been there. Hirutani had tricked he and Yugi to the warehouse in an attempt to get him to rejoin the gang. The Pharaoh had eventually tricked the thugs onto the roof where he had weakened the rusting corrugated iron with a yo-yo, sending them all crashing to the ground. The last Joey had heard, two of them had suffered spinal injuries.

The blonde teen crept through the hole in the side of the wall, making sure to keep the noise down. He knew the Death Eaters were probably waiting for him. The building was still the same creepy place that it had always been. The slats of corrugated iron were crumbling, and several pieces had fallen in. The bricks were cracked from wear, and the iron hook and chain still swung from the ceiling, looking eerily like a hangman's noose. Joey shuddered remembering when Hirutani's thugs had hung Yugi from that hook by the rope of the Millennium Puzzle.

His eyes traced the staircase that led to the upper balcony, and they fell on a figure sitting in a shadowed part of the room. His heart skipped but he did not dare shout in case he drew attention to himself.

It was Mai alright. Clad in a black mini skirt and boots, with a black vest top and a white sleeveless jacket, she looked every bit a supermodel as she had the last time Joey had seen her. But right now she was tied to a chair, and her chin was resting on her chest, indicating that she was clearly unconscious. From the blossoming bruise on her forehead, Joey gathered she had not gone down without a fight. Her duel disk was resting by her feet.

There was a crunch, which sounded like someone stepping on glass, and Joey froze.

"Joey Wheeler. So good to have you back."

Joey knew that voice all too well. He turned to find himself staring at a tall beefy looking man. He had bleach blond hair, beige coloured trousers, and a black muscle shirt, upon which rested a necklace, which jingled as he moved. The black boots crunched through the glass as the figure stepped forwards. There was a duel disk on his left arm, and as he smirked he clearly showed two missing front teeth.

"Hirutani!" Joey spat. "So you're part of this too? What the hell did you do to Mai you jerk?!"

The man chuckled, and Joey held his nerves in place as he realised that the thug was not alone. Behind him stood two cloaked figures, who could only be Death Eaters, though the blonde duellist could detect no Orichalcum from either of them. As he fought himself to focus on Hirutani however, he sensed the faint pulse of magic. His eyes directed themselves to his old friend's necklace, and there in amongst the chains, he saw the tiny green stone.

"No hello Joey? After everything we went through together in Middle School. After all our _history_."

There was a dark chuckle, and Joey wanted nothing more than to plough his fist into Hirutani's mouth and knock out the rest of his teeth. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see two more Death Eaters were standing on either side of the unconscious Mai like some demented royal guard.

"Screw the preliminaries," Joey muttered, reaching for his duel disk. "I always knew you were a bastard, but now you've joined these guys too? That's lower than I ever thought you were capable of."

The magic of the Orichalcos pulsed from Hirutani, and Joey scowled at the duel disk on his arm. He had no doubt that the thug was using the Seal. He would have to be careful.

"Ah I once again forgot, your terrible tendency to mouth off," Hirutani said. "Oh well…as long as I get your soul, my master will be pleased."

"I can't believe you've degraded yourself to being the lapdog of a deranged megalomaniac," Joey snorted. He knew he had hit a nerve when several of the Death Eaters bristled in anger. One of them made an angry step forward, but was halted by another. Hirutani just shrugged.

"Who cares? As long as I have the infinite power of the Seal of Orichalcos with me, I'm still number one in this neighbourhood. No one opposes me any more. All I need to do is take you out."

He engaged his duel disk, and Joey could not help but smirk slightly.

"Finally realised you can't beat me in a fist fight?" he taunted, activating his own. "You realise I'm now the Japanese Regional Champion?"

It was clear from the slightly shocked look on Hirutani's face, that he had not known this fact. He covered it up quite quickly though.

"So you managed to win a few measly tournaments. Doesn't matter. You're still the same thug deep down, and a few pathetic titles won't change what kind of person you are."

Joey flinched slightly. He knew he was still a thug, but hearing it from Hirutani seemed to make it sound so much worse.

"_You are still a punk," _he told himself sternly. "_But you aren't the same punk who used to bully Yugi. Now is not the time to let this guys words get to you. You've got to get Mai outta here."_

"Whatever," Joey shrugged. "Let's get this over with. When I win, Mai and I go free. Deal?"

"Fine by me," Hirutani shrugged, sparing the bound blonde in the chair a look that was anything but innocent. "Gotta say Joey I'm disappointed. Never thought you'd get reeled in by an older woman. She's hot though, I'll give you that…"

Joey scowled. "You so much as _breathe _in her direction and I'll knock out all your teeth!" There was another echoing chuckle from the surrounding Death Eaters.

"Ooh very protective of his bitch," Hirutani smirked. "You'd like an excuse to knock out the rest of my teeth wouldn't you? You know when you knocked me off the roof in our last encounter, you broke my leg."

Joey pulled a face of fake concern.

"Really? Only the one? Damn. I was hoping I'd at least have got both and maybe a little spine damage."

He pulled his deck out of his pocket, his fingers brushing Mai's Cyber Harpie card as he did. He thought for a minute before slipping it into his deck and loading it into his duel disk.

"Ready to lose Boss Monkey?" he asked. The Orichalcum pulsed angrily and Hirutani smirked.

"We shall see who loses this fight Joey. Let's duel!"

**Life Points**

Joey: 8000

Hirutani: 8000

"Since I was always the leader," Hirutani said. "I shall go first."

"Whatever," Joey rolled his eyes, as Hirutani drew a sixth card and examined his hand briefly before moving.

"I shall set a card facedown and summon Berserk Gorilla in attack mode (2000/1000)!"

Joey ground his teeth together as the holographic card appeared followed by the oversized ape, with insane red eyes. The monster banged its fists against its chest and snarled at him, saliva dripping from its teeth.

"_Great," _Joey thought. "_I remember that monster. That duel computer that went totally nuts at the KC Championships used that. That thing won't be easy to beat, especially once he draws the Seal of Orichalcos."_

"Your move Joey," the thug smirked, looking rather demented with his front teeth missing. Joey glared and drew.

"_Nuts_," he thought. _"Nothing that can beat his gorilla."_

"I'll throw a monster in defence mode and a facedown of my own," Joey said, doing just that. The holograms appeared before him and he looked nervously at his hand. "I end my turn."

Hirutani snorted.

"I give you the chance to spill first blood and you pass it up. You've turned into such a wimp."

"Shut up and move," Joey snapped, casting a quick look up at Mai. He didn't want to leave her here any longer than he had to. Hirutani did not miss his distraction and he gave a triumphant smirk in Joey's direction, sensing how worried he was.

"Sure, I'll move. I'll reveal my facedown card, Meteorain."

Joey looked grim as the trap card flipped up.

"_Great," _he thought. "_He knew I'd be hard pressed to find something to beat his gorilla, and he knew I'd probably try and defend. Whoever taught Hirutani how to duel obviously knew what they were doing."_

"And I'll call another monster to the field," Hirutani said, taking another card and placing it onto the wing of his duel disk. "Chainsaw Insect (2400/0)!"

Joey's eyes opened in alarm as another monster appeared. As the name stated this one was an insect, however pincers had been replaced with a deadly pair of chainsaws.

"Berserk Gorilla, attack his monster with Primal Punch!" Hirutani shouted. The gorilla gave a bellow and raced towards the card. Joey acted quickly and his trap card flipped up, carnival music suddenly filling the warehouse. Hirutani looked alarmed as his monster paused before a giant purple and red box, with holes in the top.

"You ever played 'Whack-a-Mole' Hirutani?" Joey asked with a grin on his face. As he spoke a coin appeared above his head. "I call tails!"

The coin span in the air, clattering to the ground beside Berserk Gorillia, who was observing the vanishing moles in the Fairy Box with a bewildered expression on its face. The coin shone, with the blank side staring back at the duellists. Joey beamed as Berserk Gorilla's attack plummeted to single digits (0/1000) and he was knocked backwards from Joey's facedown card, which flipped up to reveal Alligator's Sword (1500/1200).

**Life Points**

Joey: 8000

Hirutani: 6800

"Heh, I never get tired of watching that happen!" Joey laughed. Hirutani glared at him.

"Chainsaw Insect! Attack his Alligator's Sword and teach him the meaning of respect!"

"Ah ah!" Joey said, shaking his head as the coin appeared again. "This is a continuous trap y'know Hirutani. I call tails again!"

The coin hit the floor again…but this time the Eye of Horus stared back. Joey's face fell, as did the insect…right on his Alligator's Sword, its pincers shredding it to pieces.

**Life Points**

Joey: 6800

Hirutani: 6800

"Damn…" Joey cursed, as he watched his points decrease. "And thanks to Meteorain, that damage went straight to me…"

He glared at Chainsaw Insect.

"Okay what gives Hirutani?!" Joey demanded. "Your monsters are way to powerful to just be level four!"

"Smart Joey," Hirutani said. "They are level four, but they all have drawbacks, just to make it fair. Berserk Gorilla has to attack each turn if possible, and when Chainsaw Insect battles a monster, you're allowed to draw a card. Incidentally, you can do that now if you're not too shocked."

"_Oh_," Joey thought, drawing. "_That explains it. I guess a beatdown strategy does suit Hirutani's personality, but he's not stupid enough to use so many monsters with limitations…he must have a way to get around them. I'd better be careful…"_

"Your turn then," Hirutani announced. Joey pulled another card off the top of his deck, bringing his hand back up to six.

"Since it's proving useful, I'll pay five hundred life points to keep Fairy Box on the field," he announced.

**Life Points**

Joey: 6300

Hirutani: 6800

Hirutani looked less than pleased, and cast the box a revolted look.

"Okay," Joey muttered. "Let's see if this works. I summon Blue Flame Swordsman (1800/1600)!"

A warrior dressed in blue armour, carrying a blue sword with a kanji symbol inscribed at the end appeared. He glared at Hirutani's monsters. Berserk Gorilla just pounded its chest again, and the Chainsaw Insect gave a hiss and clicked its pincers menacingly.

"That thing?" Hirutani said, before laughing. "Its pathetic compared to my monsters!"

Smiling, Joey held up a spell card before plugging it into his disk. "You won't be thinking that after I play this handy little spell – Shield and Sword!"

Hirutani's face morphed into shock as Berserk Gorilla suddenly shrank to half its size (1000/2000) and Chainsaw Insect suddenly wilted and crashed into the floor as though it no longer had the strength to stand up (0/2400). Blue Flame Swordsman on the other hand, just stood there eagerly hefting his sword and eyeing up the weakened monsters (1600/1800).

"That's what I'm talkin' about!" Joey grinned. "Blue Flame Swordsman, destroy his Chainsaw Insect!"

The swordsman sprinted toward the insect, and plunged its sword deep into its body. The insect exploded outward and Hirutani winced as his point plummeted.

**Life Points**

Joey: 6300

Hirutani: 5200

"I think I've embarrassed you enough," Joey said, plugging another card in. "So I'll end my turn by setting this facedown."

As he spoke, Blue Flame Swordsman's points readjusted themselves back to the regular level (1800/1600), and Berserk Gorilla grew back to its usual size (2000/1000).

Scowling, Hirutani drew from his deck. As soon as he saw what he had drawn however, his face cleared up slightly.

"I'll set this facedown," he stated. "And summon Dark Elf to the field (2000/800)!"

Beside Berserk Gorilla, a dark skinned elf with dark blue hair and a green dress appeared, casting Blue Flame Swordsman a sneer as she surveyed the field.

"Yeesh," Joey pulled a face at the new arrival. "I didn't know Yugi's Mystical Elf had an evil twin."

Dark Elf looked pretty pissed at this remark, and glared daggers at the blonde.

"So what does this one do?" Joey asked.

"I have to pay a thousand life points in order for her to attack," Hirutani said dismissively. "But that's a price I'm willing to pay. But first, Berserk Gorilla, attack Blue Flame Swordsman! Primal Punch!"

Joey looked surprised and watched as the coin for Fairy Box reappeared.

"I call Heads this time!"

The coin bounced along the ground, rolling with the blank side face up.

"Aww man!" Joey whined in frustration.

"Guess it's not your lucky day," Hirutani smirked. "My attack goes ahead."

"We'll just see," Joey said, hitting another button on his duel disk. "Reveal Skull Dice!"

Berserk Gorilla was temporarily halted again, as above Joey's head appeared a tiny little imp carrying a red die.

"Huh?" Hirutani asked stupidly. "What does that do?"

Joey raised an eyebrow. "Geeze, where have you been all these years Hirutani? This is one of my favourite traps."

As he spoke he nodded at the Imp, who threw the die into the field. It clattered across the ground.

"C'mon…" Joey prayed as the die rolled to a slow stop…landing on five.

"YES!" Joey cheered. "That means all your monsters lose five hundred attack points!"

Sure enough, Dark Elf wilted slightly (1500/300) while Berserk Gorilla gave a roar as its attack continued (1500/500).

"Swordsman, counterattack!" Joey shouted. Blue Flame Swordsman rushed at the surprised Gorilla and sliced its sword through its body, causing it to bellow in pain before vanishing.

**Life Points**

Joey: 6300

Hirutani: 4900

"Lucky break Joey…" Hirutani muttered. "You caught me off guard with that thing, but it won't last. Believe me."

"You obviously haven't been watching the duelling circuits long if you didn't see _that _coming," Joey said. "I thought my deck was common knowledge."

He frowned. "I gotta ask Hirutani, how did you pick up duelling anyway? You always looked down on this kinda stuff as childish."

Hirutani growled. "It is childish, but if I do this I'll have ultimate power again, and everyone in the neighbourhood will fear me!" he gave a small chuckle. "And I have to say, I owe part of it to you."

"Huh?" Joey asked. "What are you on about?"

"My body…and my face," Hirutani spat, gesturing to his two missing front teeth. "After you knocked me off that roof I was in hospital for about six months. I had a hip fracture and my leg was broken in two other places. I needed screws in my leg to hold the fracture straight while it healed. I couldn't move from my bed on my own will for about three months, and it was another three before I was able to leave. Even then I was still in plaster!"

While he knew Hirutani deserved it, Joey could help but feel a slight stab of pity.

"No one took me seriously once they could see I was injured!" the thug continued ranting. "All our old gang members deserted me, and suddenly everyone who feared me had the courage to go running to the police. Even when could I threaten them again, the sight of me with no teeth caused them to laugh in my face. Finally I was arrested and locked up in juvenile hall."

"You got sent down?" Joey asked, curious now. He had often wondered over the last year or so if anyone had plucked up the courage to rat Hirutani out. Now he had his answer.

"Yeah I did," Hirutani glared. "And it was all because of you!"

He seemed to calm slightly and continued in a normal tone of voice.

"Even when I got out of there nothing changed. Though I was back on my feet again, I still had lost everyone's respect…then I ran into these guys."

Here, he gestured to the two Death Eaters behind him.

"They found out I had a hatred for Joey Wheeler, and they started me on the path to revenge. I got myself a deck, and a copy of the Seal. I've been powerful again, ever since. After a few months of training, the bosses thought I was ready. My first job…" Hirutani trailed off, his eyes drifting up to Mai. "Defeat the person who meant the most to Joey Wheeler."

Joey's eyes widened. He had assumed Mai was unconscious…but if Hirutani had beaten her, did that mean…?

"You Sealed her?!" he roared angrily. Hirutani rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Relax Joey, she wasn't Sealed. We didn't need her soul. We just needed her for bait. Capturing her after the duel was simple enough."

Joey did not quite buy this, especially since if Hirutani had played the Seal in his duel against Mai, one of them would be missing their souls. He noticed the flicker of anger that went across Hirutani's face, and he immediately realised what the thug was _not _saying.

"She was beating you," he smirked. "Mai was whooping your ass, so you forced the duel into a draw! That's what happened isn't it?"

Hirutani growled in anger as Joey started laughing at him heartily.

"So what?" he spat. "All the Dark Lord asked for was bait, he never asked for her soul. I saw no reason to defeat her…besides…" he trailed off and observed Mai again, this time with a predatory gleam in his eyes. "As soon as you're beaten and your soul is gone, your pretty girlfriend is all mine. And a conscious victim is always so much more fun than an unconscious one…"

Joey's laughter had died as soon as Hirutani had stopped talking, and now the anger was back, every active bit of emotion in his head wanting to beat his old friend so hard that there was nothing left for anyone to identify him by.

"You try anything and I'll rip you apart, soul or no soul!" Joey snarled. "You take your vendetta out on me Hirutani! Mai has nothing to do with this!"

"You really have gone soft!" Hirutani snorted in disgust. "And to think I once considered offering you a place by my side as second in command! And look at you now. Running to save your worthless whore of a girlfriend…"

"Don't you dare call her that!" Joey's anger peaked again and his shouts echoed off the cold walls of the warehouse. "Mai is a hundred times the person you will ever be! No…scratch that. You don't even qualify as a person! And I'm not gonna stand here and listen to you insult someone I care about! My move!"

He drew, his eyes flicking toward Mai as he did.

"_I'm getting you outta here Mai_," he promised. "_Whatever it takes. Just gotta calm down…Hirutani is trying to get to me. But I learned my lesson after the KC Championships. I can't duel with my anger. That won't save you…"_

He drew a deep breath and studied his hand.

"I'll pay another five hundred life points to keep Fairy Box on the field!" Joey announced.

**Life Points**

Joey: 5800

Hirutani: 4900

"_You'll need it when you see what I have planned for you Joey," _Hirutani smirked, running his thumb over one of the buttons on his duel disk as he waited.

"Now I summon Rocket Warrior!" Joey said, and beside Blue Flame Swordsman appeared the green and yellow checked, slightly humanoid shaped rocket (1500/1300). Hirutani snorted.

"You still play with toys Joey? How pathetic. That thing can't beat Dark Elf!"

Joey glared. "He's a lot more than meets the eye Hirutani! Rocket Warrior! Activate Invincible mode!"

The rocket pulled in its limbs and blasted toward Dark Elf.

"Have you lost it?!" Hirutani shouted, the button he had been hovering over completely forgotten. "Dark Elf, counter attack!"

The Elf attempted to hold back the attack, but the rocket ploughed into her chest, causing her to gasp and choke (1500/800).

"What?!" Hirutani was astonished. "Why did my monster lose points?! And why wasn't your Rocket Warrior destroyed?!"

"It's called a special ability," Joey rolled his eyes. "When I use Rocket Warriors effect, I take no battle damage, and your monster loses five hundred points! And now that your Elf is weak, Blue Flame Swordsman can strike back!"

The swordsman did just that. Dark Elf tried to counter, but was cut to ribbons.

**Life Points**

Joey: 5800

Hirutani: 4600

"That'll end my turn!" Joey grinned.

"_Damn him!" _Hirutani thought. "_If I'd known his monster could do that, Id've activated my trap right then…I'm going to make him pay for that…"_

"Having fun over there?" he spat, reaching for his deck.

"Of course I am!" Joey snorted. His opponent glared and pulled the top card off his deck. A smirk slid across his face. Joey felt a sudden bolt of fear shoot up his back, and he knew what his opponent had just drawn. His bravado immediately died.

"Hirutani…don't. That card is bad news."

"So you know what I've drawn?" Hirutani asked, with an eyebrow raised. "Either you're a lucky guesser or you're cheating. Either way, you won't stop me!"

"I'm warning you don't play it!" Joey shouted. He knew that however Hirutani used the Seal would mean bad news for him.

"You don't sound so confident," Hirutani noted, as his field card zone slid open. "You know to beat me Joey…"

His voice trailed off into a deadly whisper. "You need to show no fear!"

The card was inserted and the slot closed. Joey closed his eyes as light blinded him. Hirutani was screaming, and he knew above and before him, the Death Eaters in the building were shielding their eyes too. Magic filled the warehouse, and a surge of dread coursed through Joey.

The Seal of Orichalcos was on the field.

Hirutani looked directly at Joey, what little human emotion now gone from his eyes, replaced with the raw anger and desire to win at all costs. He swiftly took another card and slammed it onto the duel disk.

"I summon Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast (2800/2000)!"

Joey's eyes widened in horror as the monster appeared. The lower body was tank like with twin guns at the front, and its head stretched up to another deadly set of artillery. Between the cannons on its head, the Seal glowed (3300/2000). As he watched however, Joey saw its attack and defence drop like a stone (1900/1000).

"That monster is seven stars! How did you summon it with no tributes?" he asked. "And what happened to its points?!"

"Fusilier Dragon has an annoying side effect," Hirutani said peevishly. "I can summon him to the field without a tribute, but his original attack and defence must be halved if he's summoned this way."

He smirked and punched a button on his disk. "But thanks to this card I can stop that annoying little effect…and all the effects of your monsters!"

The trap flipped up to reveal Dark Ruler Ha Des being sapped of all its energy. As this happened, Hirutani's life points ticked down by one thousand.

**Life Points**

Joey: 5800

Hirutani: 3600

"I activate the key to my deck!" Hirutani yelled. "Skill Drain!"

Joey paled dramatically. He had faced that card in the second round of the Regionals, and he knew what it meant. His warriors looked unaffected, but the same could not be said for Hirutani's monster. The dragons points were skyrocketing back to their original value, along with the boost from the Seal of Orichalcos (3300/2000).

"Fusilier Dragon! Destroy his Rocket Warrior!" Hirutani shouted, brandishing a hand dramatically.

"You still gotta play Fairy Box first!" Joey reminded him. Hirutani gnashed his teeth together as the coin reappeared.

"Heads!" Joey shouted. The coin spun and slammed onto the floor…blank side up.

"What?!" Joey wailed as his warrior was blasted by the mechanical dragon.

**Life Points**

Joey: 4000

Hirutani: 3600

"_Damn!"_ Joey thought. _"With that trap of his out, none of my monsters can use their effects! And even worse, his deck seems to gain a huge advantage from it! What have I gotten myself into?!"_

"I'll end my turn!" Hirutani said, laughing like a maniac. "So go ahead Joey! With the power of the Orichalcos on my side I cannot be beaten! You don't have a monster in your deck that can stand up against my Fusilier Dragon, especially not without their effects! I may have lost to you in the past, but that's all about to change!"

OOO

The intercom on Seto Kaiba's desk buzzed, and the worn looking CEO tore his attention away from the production spreadsheets on his laptop to press the button.

"What?" he demanded irritably.

"Mr Kaiba," his secretary said, completely unfazed by her employers rudeness, for he was often short tempered. "Master Mokuba is on line three."

"Put him through," Kaiba said immediately. He had sent Mokuba down to help the people on surveillance monitor Joey. A call from him could only mean one thing.

"Seto!" came Mokuba's breathless voice. "We found Joey! His duel disk activated ten minutes ago, and his opponent has just played the Seal of Orichalcos!"

"Where is he?" Kaiba demanded, getting up from his desk and shutting down the programs on his laptop.

"At a warehouse in downtown Domino," his brother replied. "I'm patching the location to your laptop now. Are you heading down there?"

"Yes," Kaiba said shortly, packing up said computer and stowing it into his metal briefcase. "I want to find these people who think its fun to break into my company and try and mess with my system."

"Right…" Mokuba's voice trailed off. "It's got nothing to do with you wanting to check that Joey doesn't lose the Claw of Hermos?" he asked hopefully. Kaiba rolled his eyes, though he knew his brother couldn't see him.

"Okay maybe there is that too," he admitted. "I'll just have to hope that his pathetic duelling skills are doing their job."

OOO

The first thing Mai heard as she came around from unconsciousness, was the sounds of a battle. She groaned and raised her head slightly, opening her eyes a crack as she did. The world was very fuzzy, and she guessed that she had hit her head somehow if the throbbing in her temple was anything to go by. The floor beneath her boots was metal, old and rusted, and definitely not the kind of place she would be in by choice. She opened her eyes a bit further and was met with a sight that made the bottom drop out of her stomach.

The Seal of Orichalcos.

The same sight that had haunted her nightmares for the last year was staring her in the face. She had been hoping that the afternoon, including the duel she had fought earlier, had all just been a horrible dream. Thank God she had been able to force the duel into a draw.

"My move Hirutani!"

She gasped. She'd know that voice anywhere.

"Joey!"

The two cloaked figures beside her grabbed her arms and forced her back into her seat…not that she could really go anywhere, as she was bound by her wrists, waist and ankles. But her shout had got Joey's attention. The mop of blonde hair turned and Joey's relieved face locked onto hers.

"Mai! Hey! You're alright!"

"Of course!" Mai couldn't help but wonder whether she should have been the one asking that question, as Joey was currently the one duelling in the Seal. "What on Earth are you doing here?"

He blinked and smiled at her.

"You didn't think I'd leave you to these creeps did you?"

"Sorry to interrupt this touching reunion," Hirutani said, his voice dripping in sarcasm. "But I would like your soul before this evening is out Joey."

Mai scanned the field and within ten seconds she had concluded the state of the duel. She gulped as she looked at Fusilier Dragon, and the slightly dismal state of Joey's field.

"Be careful Joey…" she whispered. "Please don't lose…"

Down in the Seal, Joey drew and added the card to the three he already had.

"I'll pay five hundred life points to keep Fairy Box," Joey announced, hoping that he wouldn't regret it with that dragon on the field.

**Life Points**

Joey: 3500

Hirutani: 3600

"_Okay…what to do…_" the blonde duellist thought hard. "_I need to get that Skill Drain off the field…but even if I do, that dragon's attack is gonna stay the same…I need to get rid of it first and then I can find a way to get rid of Skill Drain."_

He looked at his hand and then at his deck.

"_I know I have a card that can beat that thing. I just have to hold out long enough to draw it."_

"I set a card facedown and switch Blue Flame Swordsman to defence mode," Joey said, regret filling him as he twisted the card sideways on the disk and his swordsman fell to his knees.

"Running with your tail between your legs?" Hirutani smirked. "You'll regret showing fear before me Joey!"

"Just get on with it Boss Monkey!" Joey groaned. "The less I have to listen to you, the better!"

"If you insist," Hirutani said drawing. "Fusilier Dragon, attack his Blue Flame Swordsman!"

The cannons turned on the swordsman and Fairy Box began to play again. Joey bit his lip.

"Tails!" he shouted, and for the fourth time that day, the blank side of the coin appeared. This time however, Joey whooped in joy, as the Dragon slammed into the swordsman, its attack reduced to 0.

**Life Points**

Joey: 3500

Hirutani: 2000

"Take more than that to damage me!" Joey taunted. "Anything else you want to do?"

Hirutani only growled and waved him on. Joey drew and beamed.

"_Man talk about good timing!" _he said.

"I'll set a card facedown, and play Scapegoat!"

Beside his crouching Blue Flame Swordsman appeared four tiny benign looking sheep, each different colours (0/0). Hirutani laughed.

"You have to be joking…" he snorted. "Those things are even more pathetic than the rest of your monsters!"

Joey ignored the taunting and waved his opponent on.

"_C'mon Hirutani…"_ he thought. "_Just summon another monster…_"

"I summon Jirai Gumo in attack mode (2200/100)!" Hirutani shouted, and a malicious orange spider appeared, its eyes fixing on Joey, saliva dripping from its mouth. The Seal was branded onto its forehead, and it suddenly became ten times creepier (2700/100).

"Now normally I'd have to call a coin toss to attack with Jirai Gumo," Hirutani explained. "But Skill Drain removes that effect. So I'll just go right ahead. Jirai Gumo! Destroy his Blue Flame Swordsman!"

"I get to try my luck first," Joey reminded, pointing at Fairy Box. "Tails!"

The coin bounced along the ground…and rolled to a stop on Heads.

"_Hehe!" _Joey thought. "_Perfect!"_

"Your luck is running out Joey!" Hirutani laughed as the spider advanced on the terrified looking warrior.

"Not quiet," Joey said calmly punching the button on his duel disk. "Activate Double Magical Arm Bind!"

Two of his Scapegoats vanished and in their place appeared two mechanical arms which scooped up Jirai Gumo _and _Fusilier Dragon and dragged them both over to Joey's side of the field.

"What?!" Hirutani was almost speechless…almost. "What are my monsters doing on your side of the field?!"

"They decided they didn't like it with you," Joey said, struggling to hold back his laughter. "So they hopped onboard the Double Magical Arm Bind express and came to my side! Only downside is that I had to tribute two monsters to use it, and neither of your monsters can attack or change their battle position with me."

"_Damn it!"_ Hirutani thought. "_Where's Mystical Space Typhoon when I needed it?"_

"I'll set this facedown and end my turn," the thug stated.

"Nice move Joey!" Mai cheered. "Now finish him off so we can get out of here!"

Grinning like a fool at her praise, Joey drew.

"_Yes!"_ he thought grinning at his favourite cards. "_Time to send him down!"_

"I'll keep Fairy Box on the field," Joey said quickly.

**Life Points**

Joey: 3000

Hirutani: 2000

"Now, I tribute Fusilier Dragon and Jirai Gumo to summon my pal, Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000)!" Joey proclaimed. The two captured monsters vanished and in their place appeared Joey's headliner. It flexed its wings roared loudly, causing all the Death Eaters, and Hirutani to jump.

"It's over Hirutani!" Joey shouted. "Red Eyes, finish him off with Inferno Fire Blast!"

The dragon roared and a ball of molten flames were sent crashing toward Hirutani, who punched a button on his duel disk just as the attack hit. He slammed against the wall of the Seal, swearing through his pain. His facedown card lifted and it and Skill Drain vanished from the field…

"I win!" Joey crowed. "Now release Mai!"

"Its not over quite yet Wheeler," one of the Death Eaters snarled, gesturing to the Seal that was still around them.

"Say WHAT?!" Joey demanded, noticing now that neither of their duel disks had shut off. Hirutani struggled to his feet.

**Life Points**

Joey: 3000

Hirutani: 600

"That's not right!" Joey yelled. "Red Eyes should have wiped you out!"

"The card I set in my last turn was Emergency Provisions," Hirutani explained, in between gasping to get his breath back. "You'll notice that my Skill Drain is now gone from the field."

Joey did notice now and he groaned aloud, cursing himself for not switching Blue Flame Swordsman to attack mode. He had been counting on Red Eyes to win the duel with one attack. But it was too late now.

"Is that all you want to do this turn?" Hirutani asked.

"Yeah go ahead," Joey said regretfully.

"Fine," Hirutani said, drawing. He frowned a little and plugged a card into his duel disk.

"Pot of Greed," he explained, pulling another two cards from his deck. He scowled at the top one.

"_Oh great! _Now _I get Mystical Space Typhoon! Could have used that one turn ago!"_

His eyes trailed over the second card however and he smirked.

"I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Fairy Box!"

Joey growled slightly as his trap blew up colourfully.

"Next I'll summon Goblin Attack Force (2300/0)!"

Joey's eyes narrowed as he recognised the gaggle of goblins, all brandishing clubs angrily at him. Their behaviour settled down however as the Seal appears on their foreheads (2800/0).

"Goblins, destroy his pathetic dragon!" the thug commanded.

The goblins lumbered forward and began clubbing the poor Red Eyes to death. The dragon roared angrily and tried to fend them off, but soon fell victim to the relentless assault. Joey winced and decided that he definitely preferred it when the Goblins were on his side of the field.

**Life Points**

Joey: 2600

Hirutani: 600

"Of course my Goblins go to defence mode now," Hirutani shrugged, as the army of goblins collapsed into an undignified heap on the floor. "But I'm not too worried. I'll just set this and end my turn."

Joey drew and studied his hand.

"_His facedown card is probably a trap….But I should get those Goblins off the field while I can, or he might try summoning something stronger with them. I don't have Fairy Box to protect me any more. But I do have this."_

"I'll place this facedown…" Joey said, frowning at the goblins lazing on the other side of the field. "And switch Blue Flame Swordsman to attack mode. Attack his Goblin Attack Force!"

Hirutani looked a little surprised, but activated his trap card none the less. "Activate Final Attack Orders!"

"Aww man!" Joey groaned, as the goblins rose into attack mode and clubbed the poor Blue Flame Swordsman to death. In front of Joey too, his Scapegoats rose up a little to indicate a change in mode.

**Life points**

Joey: 1600

Hirutani: 600

"When Blue Flame Swordsman is destroyed in battle I can special summon the original Flame Swordsman from my fusion deck!" Joey announced, as soon as he had got over his shock.

"Yes but thanks to Final Attack Orders," Hirutani said, pointing at the aforementioned trap card as he spoke. "You must summon him in attack mode."

"Yeah, I'd got that funnily enough," Joey said glaring. As he spoke a warrior appeared on his side of the field. He was dressed in the same way as Blue Flame Swordsman, only in red and orange armour rather than blue (1800/1600).

"Anything else you want to do?" Hirutani asked. Frowning again, Joey plugged another card in.

"Can't hurt I guess," he said. "I activate Dangerous Machine Type-6!" he shouted, plugging the spell card in. Before him appeared a spherical device which bore a slight resemblance to a slot machine, with six circular dials on the front, and a handle on the side.

"And this does what exactly?" Hirutani asked.

"You'll have to wait and see," Joey said. "That'll be it for my turn though."

"_I need to get that trap off the field,"_ Joey thought. "_If this doesn't work and he attacks my Scapegoats, I'm gonna loose a huge chunk of my life points!"_

"My move then," Hirutani said, drawing and examining the two cards in his hand. He shrugged and raised his head to look at his Goblins. "Attack his Flame Swordsman!"

The Goblins raised their clubs again, but Joey responded quickly, and his trap card lifted.

"I activate Compensation Mediation!" he announced, taking the trap card out of his disk and throwing it over to Hirutani, who caught it confused.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" the thug demanded.

"Simple," Joey said. "You choose two cards from your graveyard, shuffle em together with that trap card, and then set the three of them facedown."

Wondering what the hell the blonde champion was up to, Hirutani did as he was told, taking back Pot of Greed and Skill Drain from his graveyard, shuffling them together, and setting them facedown.

"Now what?" he asked. Joey smiled.

"Now I pick one of them," he explained. "If it's my trap card, then your attack is negated and your battle phase is over Hirutani. If not…" he swallowed a little. "Then your attack goes ahead and my Swordsman bites the big one."

"I knew they told me you relied on luck to win duels," Hirutani deadpanned. "But this is just ridiculous!"

Joey glared at him. "No. What's ridiculous is that you'd sink to kidnap and soul stealing just to be number one in the neighbourhood again! I can't believe I was ever dumb enough to hang around with you, let alone consider you my friend!"

He looked up at Mai as he spoke. "I know what real friendship is now. And I have real friends that I'd do anything for. Just as I know they would do the same for me."

"_Well spoken Joey_," Mai thought, before looking at the Seal, a look of regret crossing her face.

"_Though I still don't know how you found it in your heart to forgive me after everything I did to you with the Orichalcos…"_

She brushed off her pity and went back to focusing on the match.

"I choose the card on the left!" Joey shouted, pointing at his choice. He and Mai held their breath as it rose up…

To reveal Compensation Mediation.

"YES!" Joey cheered, and Mai slumped back in her chair in relief.

"Fine," Hirutani said, ripping the trap from his duel disk and scanning the card text. "My battle phase is skipped. But it says here that both the cards I chose go to the top of my deck."

"Yeah, they do," Joey confirmed as Hirutani placed the said cards on his deck, and threw the trap back to Joey. "Better hope you picked something good."

"Oh I did," Hirutani muttered, before raising his voice. "I end my turn!"

Joey drew and beamed like a fool as Dangerous Machine Type-6 began to whirl and the six dials spun like crazy.

"You wanted to know what it does," Joey said. "During my standby phases, my Dangerous Machine will select a number between one and six…what happens depends on what number I get."

The dials suddenly shuddered to a halt with a little 'ding' noise. Joey's face fell a little bit as he observed the displayed number.

"I was hoping for a five," he admitted. "But a three is good! That means I can draw one card!" he grinned, adding the third card to his hand.

"You'll need it," Hirutani scowled. Joey beamed.

"Actually I do!" he said, slamming the card into his duel disk. "I activate Giant Trunade!"

Hirutani looked irritated as Final Attack Orders blew off the field and back to his hand. Joey's Dangerous Machine did the same, but Joey quickly replayed it as soon as the tornado had blown over, and the slot machine reappeared.

"And now my monsters don't have to sit in attack mode," Joey said. "I'll switch them all to defence mode instead."

As he spoke, Flame Swordsman, and the two remaining Sheep Tokens all lowered themselves to the ground.

"That'll do," Joey said.

"_C'mon Joey_," Mai thought. "_Don't let him win…"_

Her hair fell into her eyes as the next thought crossed her mind.

"_I don't know what I'll do if you lose…"_

Hirutani drew...and immediately plugged Pot of Greed into his duel disk. Joey suppressed a groan, wondering what else Hirutani could have drawn. He got his answer as a fresh smirk crossed his opponent's face, which soon gave way to full blown laughter.

"I missed the joke," Joey said dryly. Hirutani continued to laugh as he placed two cards facedown on the field.

"_Bet my Red Eyes one of those is Final Attack Orders," _Joey thought bitterly. "_Wonder what else he's got up his sleeve."_

"I play Dian Keto the Cure Master, restoring my life points by a thousand," Hirutani said, before plugging another spell card in. This time the ankh representing Monster Reborn appeared.

**Life Points**

Joey: 1600

Hirutani: 1600

"Time to meet the killer of my deck Joey," Hirutani smirked. "The most demonic creature you have ever seen!"

The Goblin Attack Force and the newly resurrected Dark Elf vanished from the field in two beams of bright light, which converged to form a new entity. Behind Hirutani appeared a nightmarish creature. It loomed over the field, its skin a shiny red, muscles bulging powerfully and two horns protruding from either side of its head (3500/3000).

Joey knew then and there, as the Seal branded itself into the forehead of the creature, that he was staring at the very embodiment of the devil.

"Meet Ultimate Obedient Fiend (4000/3000)," Hirutani shouted. "The last monster you will ever see!"

"Its…" Joey trailed off, unsure how to finish his sentence appropriately.

"Impressive?" Hirutani suggested. "Powerful?"

The boasting seemed to snap Joey out of his horrified daze and he glared at Hirutani. "I was actually going to say ugly."

Ugly though it was, up on the balcony, Mai was terrified. Not only did that monster look like the very incarnation of all things evil, but its attack points were frighteningly high. Though she knew Ultimate Obedient Fiend's effect meant that Joey was safe this round, if those two cards he had set were what she thought they were, Joey would lose the duel in Hirutani's next turn.

…and his soul along with it.

"_I can't watch that again," _Mai thought, fear bubbling at the edge of her senses, threatening to overwhelm her. "_I can't watch him lose his soul again. I can't bare it!"_

Hirutani was enraged by Joey's insult. "Be thankful that I can't attack with my monster right now!"

"You can't?" Joey asked, curiously. "Why?"

"Ultimate Obedient Fiend's effect," Hirutani replied grudgingly. "He can only attack if he's the only card on my side of the field, and if I'm holding no cards in my hand. And as you can see…" here he gestured to the two facedown cards on the field along with the Seal. "I don't fulfil this requirement."

Joey felt alarmed.

"_Then that other facedown he set _has _to be Skill Drain! That's why he was topping up his life points! I'd better do something quick, or I'm a gonner!"_

"So it's your move Joey," Hirutani said. "Your last move that is."

Joey drew, and as he did, his Dangerous Machine began to rattle as the dials spun again. They clanged to a halt on one.

"Nuts…" Joey's face fell. "A one on my dangerous machine means I have to discard a card from my hand."

He did so, and Hirutani looked pleased as this development, before punching two buttons on his duel disk.

"I activate my traps – Final Attack Orders and Skill Drain!"

**Life Points**

Joey: 1600

Hirutani: 600

"_I knew it," _Joey and Mai thought simultaneously, as Joey's Flame Swordsman and his two remaining Scapegoats rose back into attack mode.

"I set this facedown," Joey said, plugging a card into his duel disk. "And end my turn."

"_I hope he's planning something_," Mai prayed. "_Please don't let him lose his soul…"_

Hirutani ripped a card from his deck and waved a hand at Ultimate Obedient Fiend.

"Its all over Joey!" he yelled. "Ultimate Obedient Fiend, attack one of his Scapegoats, and end this duel! Ultimate Dark Oblivion!"

His monster raised its arms and a ball of flames appeared in its hands. They were blasted toward Joey's rather petrified Scapegoat, which was vaporised on the spot with a rather pathetic bleat as its last action. As the smell of smoke and brimstone stung everyone's noses, Joey hit a button on his disk, and covered his face with his other hand.

"Say goodbye to your soul!" Hirutani cackled, before realising that his opponent was still standing. The Scapegoat was gone, but Joey's life points had not altered one bit.

**Life Points**

Joey: 1600

Hirutani: 600

"What?!" Hirutani was enraged. "You should have been wiped out!"

"I would have if not for this," Joey explained, point at his still raised trap card. It depicted a purple flask with the number 4000 inscribed on the side.

"What…did…you…DO?!" Hirutani roared.

"Activated Nutrient Z," Joey elaborated. "Since I was about to take more than two thousand points of damage, my trap gave me four thousand extra life points before your attack hit, enough to save me from any damage for this round."

Hirutani looked about ready to put his fist through his duel disk. Snarling, he set the one card in his hand facedown and waved Joey on. As Joey drew, a grin crossed his face.

"_Mai, you are a sight for sore eyes,"_ he thought, looking at Cyber Harpie. "_Now let's see if we can turn this duel around."_

Dangerous Machine began to whirl again.

"C'mon big bucks…" Joey prayed, as the reels slammed to a halt. The results read five and he began laughing.

"What's so funny?" Hirutani asked.

"Y'know when I first spun this machine I said I was hoping for a five?" Joey asked. "Well now you're about to see why!"

As he spoke, Ultimate Obedient Fiend gave a roar of pain, and suddenly crumpled to the floor with an almighty crash before exploding into fiery embers.

"WHAT?!" Hirutani bellowed angrily. "What did you do to my monster?"

"You got slower since we last met," Joey concluded. "Since I rolled a five, my Dangerous Machine Type-6 blasted it back to hell!"

"You go Joey!" Mai cheered. "Show him who's boss!"

Joey gave her a thumbs up, while Hirutani and the Death Eaters looked angered.

"Aww don't feel bad Boss Monkey," Joey grinned, seeing his opponents face. "I mean I _only_ just blew your best monster sky high! Nothing to get upset aba…what the heck?!"

For Hirutani had finally stopped glaring and was pressing a button on his duel disk. The facedown he had set the previous turn rose up and Joey paled.

"You…are…kidding me…" the blonde duellist muttered to himself, recognising the card all too well.

"Seems you aren't the only one who can get lucky Joey," Hirutani said. "And since you just 'blew my best monster sky high' I can now activate this – A Deal with Dark Ruler!"

Mai gasped loudly, and Joey bit back a few curses as the smouldering remains of Ultimate Obedient Fiend suddenly began to reform into a menacing black figure. As it solidified, a ferocious skeletal dragon appeared, letting loose a roar that caused everyone in the warehouse to tremble as the Seal appeared on its head and its eyes began to glow red (4000/0).

"Berserk Dragon…" Joey breathed, remembering the last time he had seen this monster. It had been when he and Yugi had duelled against every member of the Big Five while they had been inhabiting Tristan's body. He noticed that on the field, Flame Swordsman was also looking less than pleased to see the new arrival, and he wondered if it was for the same reason. After all, Flame Swordsman had been his deckmaster.

"Apparently you know what this monster is capable of," Hirutani said. "And while he is normally a very risky creature to have, coupled with Skill Drain, his limitations are no longer a problem for me. So go ahead and finish your move so that my dragon can crush you!"

Looking more nervous than he had when Ultimate Obedient Fiend had been summoned, Joey studied the four cards in his hand.

"_This is my last chance,"_ he thought, taking one of the cards and plugging it into his disk.

"_I just have to hope he hits the right monster," _Joey thought. "_Else this card isn't going to work."_

"I set a card facedown and end my turn."

Mai felt her heart leap again. Joey was just stalling and she knew it. How much longer was he going to be able to hold out though before that dragon tore him apart?

Hirutani smirked. He could just see his victory as he drew. He raised an arm dramatically.

"Berserk Dragon, wipe out his last Scapegoat, and the rest of his life points with Dark Fire Blast!"

Mai screwed up her eyes, not wanting to watch the end…

"Think again Hirutani!" Joey crowed. "I activate the trap card, Silver Dollar!"

Mai opened her eyes again, just in time to see a silver coin appear in front of Joey's monsters. The attack blasted the coin instead, leaving Joey's Scapegoat, and his life points unharmed.

"Heh, I love this trap," Joey said. "It can only save monster with less than a thousand attack points, but since my Scapegoat token had zero, that fit the bill perfectly! All damage has been reduced to zero!"

"I knew Angus and Raquel said that Wheeler had more lives than a cat," one of the Death Eaters beside Mai said. "But this is getting stupid…"

The second Death Eater nodded in agreement, and Mai wondered who they were talking about, and why their names sounded so familiar…

"ARGH!" Hirutani was pulling on his hair by this point. "When are you just going to give up?!"

"So long as you have Mai," Joey glared. "Never! You gonna do anything else?"

"I end my turn," Hirutani said, grinding his teeth together. "But your luck won't hold out forever Joey! Soon I'll blast your monsters off the field, and the rest of your life points with it! Then your soul will be gone, and I'll have my revenge for my injuries, and I'll have your pretty girlfriend to boot!"

"Like hell I'll let you get away with that!" Joey snarled.

"_But he's right,"_ he thought in the back of his mind. "_I'm just stalling right now, and I'm running out of options. None of my monsters can even scratch Berserk Dragon, and with Skill Drain out, none of their effects can help me. Worse still…my Scapegoat Token is gonna get picked off sooner or later, and thanks to Final Attack Orders, it'll take the rest of my life points with it."_

He reached slowly for his deck.

"_I can't give up," _he thought. "_I have to win this duel to save Mai. I won't let Hirutani or any of these creeps near her…so long as I'm breathing I won't let her get hurt again…I have to get her out of here…"_

He drew the card.

"_I have to win!"_

He checked the card…and his face split into a grin.

"I wouldn't look so happy," Hirutani said smarmily. "You're about to lose after all."

Joey just grinned wider. "A friend of mine would beg to differ Hirutani! But first, why don't I even the field a little bit?"

Dangerous Machine Type-6 suddenly began to rattle and spin again, the numbers shuddering to a halt on three. Joey beamed and drew another card.

"That's what I'm talkin' about!" he cheered. "I play Monster Reborn to bring back Gearfried the Iron Knight!"

At his command the armoured knight appeared, slicing his razor like forearm through the air, threateningly at Hirutani (1800/1600).

"When did he get in your graveyard?" Hirutani asked, before his eyes opened wide. "Oh…he was the monster you were forced to discard with your Dangerous Machine a few turns ago wasn't he?"

"Give the man a prize!" Joey said. "And yes I know he's too weak to defeat Berserk Dragon." He said as Hirutani opened his mouth to point this out. "But I'm not just leaving him like this. First I'll normal summon a very special gal to the field."

He glanced up at the balcony as he spoke.

"_Mai, this is for you."_

"I summon Cyber Harpie Lady!"

Beautiful and deadly, Mai's signature monster rose into the air, her armour gleaming (1800/1300). She pumped her wings dramatically before landing beside Flame Swordsman and Gearfried, who both looked pleased to see her. Hirutani on the other hand, did not.

"That's one of her monsters!" he snapped, jerking his head toward Mai. "How pathetic! She's just as worthless as your Knight is!"

"They won't be 'worthless' as you call them, for long," Joey said, taking the card he had drawn and plugging into his disk. "I play, The Claw of Hermos!"

All the Death Eaters immediately stiffened in horror at the name. Hirutani however, who had no idea what was going on, just looked mildly surprised at the appearance of the Legendary Dragon, which immediately vanished from the field along with Gearfried the Iron Knight.

"_Gimmie something good…_" Joey prayed, and he was rewarded as in the place of the two monsters appeared a suit of silver armour, comprised of a chest plate, a helmet, two armguards and two leg guards. Each of the pieces were covered in runes, which glowed brightly.

"What the hell is that?" Hirutani asked, blinking in confusion at the chain of events that had just happened.

"_That_," Joey pointed at the armour. "Would be my Shining Iron Armour! And I think it's the perfect fit for my Cyber Harpie, don't you?"

It certainly seemed that way, for Cyber Harpie's regular gold armour was replaced by the radiant silver set, which somehow succeeded in making her look even more deadly.

"So what?" Hirutani asked. "It didn't alter your little bird's attack points one bit!"

"No but this will!" Joey said, plugging another spell card in. "I play Graceful Dice!"

Hirutani glared as yet another imp appeared, this one carrying a huge blue die in its hands.

"Show me some love!" Joey begged, and the imp threw the die, which clattered along the ground, before rolling to a stop on two.

"Awesome! Now both my monsters get an extra two hundred attack points!" Joey smiled as Cyber Harpie (2000/1300) and Flame Swordsman (2000/1600) enjoyed the boost.

"It's a pathetic boost!" Hirutani pointed out. "Neither of them is strong enough to beat my dragon!"

"This is where my Armour kicks in," Joey explained. "Y'see since I activated a spell card, I can now tribute one monster…see ya Scapegoat!"

His final token turned into pixels of light, which immediately sped toward Cyber Harpie Lady, and were absorbed into her armour.

"And now Cyber Harpie can halve the attack of one monster on your side of the field!"

"What?!" Hirutani asked, as his Berserk Dragon's attack suddenly plummeted (2000/0).

"Now lets get rid of that giant rotting skeleton!" Joey suggested. "Cyber Harpie, attack Berserk Dragon!"

"Are you nuts?!" Hirutani bellowed. "They'll both be destroyed!"

Up on the balcony, Mai was having similar thoughts.

"_He wouldn't sacrifice my favourite monster…would he?"_

Even as she thought it, Cyber Harpie slashed at the dragon, which attempted to blast her as she approached. Just before the attack struck however, the Armour glowed and the dragon's attack exploded outward, causing the two to vanish from sight.

…When the smoke cleared, Cyber Harpie Lady was still standing, a smug look on her face. There was no dragon in sight.

"What?!" Hirutani screamed, for the millionth time that day. "Why wasn't your monster destroyed too?!"

"That would be the second affect of my Shining Iron Armour," Joey explained, with a frown. "Did you really think I'd kamikaze Mai's favourite monster? She means a hell of a lot more to me than that!"

Despite the danger, Mai felt a very warm and happy feeling bubble up inside her at those words.

"Y'see so long as you have a spell card on the field," Joey continued to explain. "The monster equipped with Shining Iron Armour can't be destroyed in battle."

"But I don't have a spell card on the field!" Hirutani growled out. "You cheated!"

"Look around you Hirutani!" Joey said, waving an arm in a circular motion to demonstrate. "We're _in _one of your spell cards as we speak!"

Too late, Hirutani realised that Joey was right. The Seal of Orichalcos, broken though it was, was still a spell card, and fulfilled the Armour's requirements. His will to fight vanished.

"Now consider this a warning," Joey glared. "Never challenge me to a duel, never side with freak jobs like these guys, and NEVER try and kidnap my friends, _especially_ Mai!"

He turned to his final monster.

"Flame Swordsman, finish him off with Flaming Sword of Battle!"

The warrior looked all too pleased, striding across the field and slashing his sword across Hirutani's chest. The thug fell to the floor, groaning in agony as the Seal slowly began to shrink.

**Life Points**

Joey: 1600

Hirutani: 0

Joey watched as the magical energy contracted around his ex-friend. Strangely he felt no pity. The monsters vanished from the field, and Joey hastily turned toward the balcony.

"I win!" he declared to the watching Death Eaters. "Now let Mai go!"

It did not bode well for Joey when their response was a unified bout of laughter.

"You must be stupid if you think we're giving your little girlfriend back!" the Death Eater snarled, turning and pointing his wand at Mai. "Avada…"

He never got any further. Colour burst from Joey's duel disk, as Hermos, Cyber Harpie, Flame Swordsman and the Red Eyes Black Dragon appeared. Red Eyes immediately blasted the Death Eater into the wall, while Cyber Harpie swooped down and slashed at Mai's bindings with razor

sharp talons. She got to her feet instantly, before pulling on her own Duel Disk and clocking the second stunned Death Eater around the head with it.

Meanwhile on the lower floor, one of the Death Eaters cursed and waved their wand. A second later, another dozen Death Eaters, presumably the back up group, appeared and began firing. Joey had got over his amazement and was issuing orders while dodging the various streams of light now trying to put an end to his life.

"Red Eyes attack! Hermos clear a path to the exit! Flame Swordsman, cover him!"

The monsters immediately began fighting, with Red Eyes taking out another two Death Eaters with one blast. Hermos began clearing those blocking the exit, sending one flying out the window with a sweep of his tail and clamping another in his jaws. Flame Swordsman was darting here and there, taking out the Death Eaters that were trying in vain to stun the monsters.

"Mai? Mai! Where are you?!" Joey called out in alarm, seeing that she had vanished from the chair on the upper level. He sighed in relief as she was deposited onto the ground next to him by Cyber Harpie; who immediately went for another Death Eater, picking him up and throwing him across the warehouse.

"Boy am I glad to see you," Joey said, and he meant every word.

"Likewise," Mai assured him. "Let's get out of here."

"Well said," Joey agreed, grabbing her hand and dragging her toward the warehouse exit. No sooner had they started moving however, than Joey smelt something very familiar. Flame Swordsman it seemed, had got too close to one of the barrels of petrol, and the substance was quickly catching fire.

"That's not good," Joey said, and he and Mai raced away from the impending inferno.

Ducking and dodging the various curses as they went, they kept close to Hermos, who was succeeding in keeping away the Death Eaters who tried to intercept them as they left. Joey pushed Mai through the hole in the wall, and scrambled out after her. Turning as he went, his eyes found Flame Swordsman who nodded at him, and all four monsters vanished back into their respective deck. Joey was relieved. He did not want to leave his monsters stuck in a building that was about to go sky high.

They collapsed on the concrete outside the warehouse, both trying frantically to catch their breath. There was a dull explosion inside as the petrol barrels caught fire, and flames licked at the already broken windows. Sections of the iron roof caved in and slabs of brick and metal were blown outward as more of the walls came down.

When Joey and Mai looked up again, the building was a mere structural shell, and the smell of petrol and smoke permeated the air. Joey diverted his attention quickly to Mai. Even exhausted, dishevelled and with a bruise on her head, she still looked amazing.

"Not quite how I pictured welcoming you back to Domino," he admitted. Mai gave a shaky laugh.

"That was a welcome I didn't mind," Mai admitted. "You saved me in there Joey."

"You'd do the same for me," Joey said, getting slowly to his feet, and helping her up as he went.

"_Yes I would," _Mai thought. "_More than you know."_

A screech of tyres broke their moment, as a limo pulled up beside the warehouse. Joey immediately recognised the logo on the side and immediately gave a sigh of relief.

"C'mon," he said. "That's our lift."

"This is new," Mai remarked as they approached the limo. "I thought you were the last person Kaiba would do anything for."

Joey sighed. "It's been a long and complicated few months Mai…for all of us."

* * *

OOO

**Card Specs**

_Name: _Shining Iron Armour

_Card Type: _Equip Spell

_Image: _A silver helmet, chest plate, arm guards and leg guards, engraved with glowing ancient runes.

_Card Text: _Activate only from your hand or deck by removing from play one "The Claw of Hermos" and one "Gearfried the Iron Knight" you control. So long as there is a spell card on your opponents' side of the field, this monster cannot be destroyed in battle. When you activate a spell card, you can tribute one monster on your side of the field to decrease the current attack points of one of your opponent's monsters by half.

* * *

OOO

**A/N: **Yeah…if you couldn't figure it out, I'm a Polarshipper, but to be fair, I don't think I was hinting any worse than Takahashi does in the anime or manga. Friendship my arse! They're so in love it's painful!

Mai's outfit – think what she's wearing in her little cameo in the movie. I like that outfit and I'm giving her a break from purple.

Hirutani is introduced in Volume 2 of the manga, and reintroduced in Volume 6 if anyone was wondering.

Japanese school systems (just in case I've confused anyone) – The academic year in Japan begins in April, so we are left to assume that the exams would be before the spring holidays, in other words, not that far off from where we are now in the timeline. Also some schools are open on Saturday for extra curricular clubs or lessons. I am assuming that any extra prep work for exams could also be done in this time. If not, charge it to my creative licence. I checked most of these details with my cousin, so they should be accurate.

Anyway, credit to Isis the Sphinx for betaing my spelling. Credit to DuelistBlake1852 for betaing the duel. And I also have to give credit to MichaelDJ54, who helped me come up with the idea for the Hermos fusion in this chapter. I couldn't make up my mind which monster to use, so we sat there and worked out the pros and cons of each one, as well as the possibilities that the fusion could provide.

A point to mention. All three above mentioned people who helped with this chapter, and indeed a lot of this fanfiction, each have fantastic fics of their own up. Go check them out. You will not be disappointed, I promise you!

Next chapter will be…probably not till after my assignments and exams are over (after June 11th). The wait is necessary I'm afraid, since if I don't pass these assignments it affects my ability to get into my third year.

Until then, review my pretties!


	21. Chapter 21: The Servant of Anubis

**Disclaimer: **I am borrowing the works of Harry Potter and YuGiOh for my fanfiction. I have every intention of returning them in one piece when I am done.

**Dedication: **To Anika, the best housemate ever, who has put tireless effort into helping me prep for my resit. Thank you so much hon!

**Authors Reply:**

As a mature and responsible member of ff . net I always try to respond to constructive criticism so you can imagine my horror when I was unable to decipher a review full of helpful suggestions and polite advice on improving my story. However, maybe one of my readers will be able to help me translate:

"_WTF?who's gonna read this piece of (censored) garbage,harry potter suckz ,they should hang that (censored) bastard and killem ,harry potta suckz and the brit (censored) who wrote thiz suckz too.The Flamemasta haz spoke_."

_WTF?_: White Turtle Fish? Wednesday to Friday? Wallaby tree fell? There were a few too many suggestions here so I'll skip forward to the next helpful point.

_Who's gonna read this piece of (censored) garbage_, : Gonna didn't appear in any dictionary I could find, but logic dictates it should, in this context, mean "your story is very impressive". As for the stars, my housemate assures me they are starring out 'amazing' or 'miraculously superb' but don't want such high praise to go to my head.

_they should hang that (censored) bastard and killem_ : first off, I am worried for Killem. My reviewer seems to want to hang them… not sure if they mean 'from a tree by their ankles' but I would assume so. Killem, if you are reading, take care. I would also like to assure the reviewer that Harry was a legitimate baby, despite all those unseemly Snape rumours. I am assuming the reviewer believes Harry to be the child of someone other than James, perhaps Aberforth or Lucius Malfoy. Don't worry reviewer, no one will judge you for your 'interesting' tastes here.

_and the brit (censored) who wrote thiz suckz too.The Flamemasta haz spoke._ : At first I thought brit was short for 'British' but everyone who completed third grade knows it has a capital letter, so I think they must mean the brand of ritz cracker. Reviewer, I am not a ritz cracker, perhaps you should cut down on the hallucinogenics, but that is of course, your choice. I don't like to judge. It is nice that the Flamemasta (is that Jamaican? You must struggle getting keyrings and mugs with your name on, I sympathise) 'haz spoke', spokes are very important when making bicycle wheels and I am glad you are not lacking in them. Always wear a helmet, dear reviewer.

Well I think that is response to all the ambiguities, I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much as the last one, good luck making that bicycle and have a nice day.

* * *

**Chapter 21: The Servant of Anubis**

The fist that slammed down on the Gryffindor table caused most of the occupants to jump. Several breakfast utensils went flying, and someone's goblet of pumpkin juice was spilt. Everyone stared at the person responsible. The tri colour haired duellist however, did not pay attention, nor did his two companions.

"Damn them all to hell!" Bakura spat, not caring about the people who gasped in shock, having never heard the normally mild Ryou Bakura curse before. Malik however, did and rolled his eyes.

"Oh take a picture people!" he snapped. "It will last longer!"

Yugi stared at the letter before him. It was just like the previous term. They had been informed of the attack a week previously, but only when Joey's letter had come through had it finally sunk in just how dangerous it had been.

"Let's just thank Ra that they're both alright," Malik pointed out, as the rest of the table went back to their food. He was being completely serious. Joey was a friend, and he liked Mai and felt very bad for everything his darker side had done to her in Battle City. Ryou, hovering in spirit form, nodded in agreement.

"That's another one," Yugi muttered. "Another attack. More danger…who's going to be next?"

"They seem to be targeting just you three at the moment," Bakura pointed out, more to reassure Malik than Yugi. "I would guess they're more concerned about the Legendary Dragons than the rest of us."

Malik swallowed. Anyone could see that he was concerned about his brother and sister. Yugi did not seem comforted by this. He just sat there with a blank look on his face, which signified that he was talking to the Pharaoh.

/_This has to end_/ Yami said. /_We must stop Voldemort before any more of our friends suffer_/

/_I know_/ Yugi said. /_We should talk to the others at Easter. Maybe…maybe it would be a good idea if we went home and tried to stop Voldemort from there?_/

Yami pondered this for a second, before answering.

/_Maybe you're right Aibou. But we should wait until Easter and see what everyone else thinks. I get the feeling that we would be closer to Voldemort here at Hogwarts than we would be back in Japan_/

Yugi nodded, and pulled himself back to reality. He could tell it was killing his yami to suggest leaving the people in Domino unprotected for even a second longer. The light and dark exchanged a simultaneous thought.

"_We came here to protect the students. But who is protecting our friends and family?_"

"Oh don't look now," Bakura said sarcastically getting up from the table. "But it's our dear _friends._ I'll see you both upstairs."

He left the table, grabbing a piece of toast as he left. Sure enough, Harry, Ron and Hermione were approaching the two remaining transfer students. Malik scowled and flounced off after the thief, leaving Yugi on his own.

It had been a week since Malfoy had been locked in his Penalty Game (and was consequently lying in the Hospital Wing in what appeared to be a coma), and it had been a week since any of the duellists had spoken to the three Gryffindors. Ryou was still very upset that they had gone through his letters, and was avoiding them wherever possible. His grim mood had only increased when they had got to Hagrid's straight after the Shadow Game. Despite the fact that Hagrid was allergic to cats, he was willing to help out the distraught boy. It was still touch and go, but Bastet looked to be recovering under the giant's tender care. But the constant worry grated on Ryou's nerves, and his work was beginning to slip.

Ryou's separation from Harry, Ron and Hermione, also meant the same for the other two. Malik was taking a similar attitude, seeing how upset this had made his friend. Yugi however was finding it hard to be mad at them, as it had been Ryou they had upset not he. But as he hung around with Ryou and Malik most of the time, he found himself avoiding them too. He knew Harry, Ron and Hermione were trying to apologise, but despite asking his friends to hear them out, neither Ryou nor Malik were willing. Ryou's trust in particular appeared to have been shattered beyond repair.

"Yugi," Ron began, but the King of Games got up swiftly too.

"I have to go do my coursework guys," he muttered. "I'm sorry."

"Yugi we just want to apologise!" Hermione said desperately. Yugi shook his head and picked up his bag.

"It's not me you should be apologising too though," he said, shoving the letter in his bag and hurrying away.

Harry sighed. He knew from the looks on their faces and their behaviour just now that they had all had very bad news from home. Unfortunately most of the conversation had been in Japanese, so none of them had understood entirely what had happened to get them so upset.

"Something bad happened," Ron summarised. "Why else would Bakura have looked so mad?"

Harry nodded. In the last week, in between trying to apologise to their friends, they had been observing them, and could now spot the differences between Yugi, Ryou and their counterparts. Hermione had also been pouring endlessly through the library for any information she could find on the purple shield that had barricaded their way through the corridor. Whatever had happened in there, Malfoy was still suffering for it. And though they wanted to apologise to their friends, they were also mildly afraid of what they had done.

"We've been trying to talk to them for a week!" Hermione said miserably. "There has to be something we can do to make up for it!"

Harry privately felt that nothing could really make up for betraying their trust like this, but he didn't want to make Hermione any more miserable than she was already. They had been attempting to apologise at every opportunity, but all of them, particularly Ryou were taking pains to avoid them, sitting on the other side of the classroom, and going to bed before everyone else. The constant separation between the three also meant that they had not had the chance to give back the Millennium Eye. Judging how upset they were that they had been snooping however, it seemed that when they did find out that they had it, it would only make the situation worse.

"Come on," Harry said. "We'll be late for Herbology. We'll have to try again at break."

OOO

He could not breathe.

The web trickled slowly down his throat, growing longer and longer, day by day. He knew he must have been here days, but he had lost track a long time ago. He could not scream even if he wanted to. It was pointless. No one would hear him.

He was truly alone.

He had thought he was lonely before, with no real friends, and a family who were more interested in the Dark Lord's wishes than his own. But now he understood, this was true loneliness.

He hadn't thought that it was wrong, he realised, now that he had time to think about it. It was what he had been exposed to. He had been taught that it was right to put everyone down, to show them that he was better. His family, who idolised the Dark Lord, had seemed so normal to him originally, that he had done the same, picking up their beliefs and attitudes. He had discriminated against muggleborns, because they were different, and because he was told that different was bad. He had discriminated against those who mingled with muggleborns, because he was told they were un-pure. And he had discriminated against those with pureblood, who showed sympathy to those without.

He had turned into the faintest shadow of a Death Eater, way before he had even realised it.

OOO

"What can we do?" Yugi asked, settling onto his bed heavily, the letter from Joey clutched in his hand. Ryou curled up on his own bed, shuffling his duelling deck from one hand to the other. Malik leaned his head against one of the posts on his bed.

"Not a lot," the Egyptian pointed out. "Even if we dropped out now it would not do any good. Voldemort is here, and we'd be back in Japan, sitting ducks."

"We can't keep relying on Dumbledore to protect our families though," Yugi protested. "He's hardly done a very good job so far. Joey, Mai, Serenity, Kaiba…even Ryou's father. I know Dumbledore is trying his hardest, but the truth is, they need real protection. From us. We're the only ones who can. And besides, it's not exactly happy here right now. We're all alone."

Ryou paused in the shuffling of his cards. Bakura had jumped up suddenly in his soul room and now fazed out of the Ring beside the hikari.

"There is something we can do," he said, grabbing everyone's attention. Malik looked up at the thief, and Yugi mentally prodded his other half.

"We need to stop sitting back and waiting for Voldemort to attack us," Bakura said firmly. "We need to start getting to him."

"Explain yourself please Bakura," Yami asked, sitting beside Yugi in spirit form.

"I'm getting there Pharaoh," Bakura assured him. "We need a spy, so we can tell who he's going after next, and we can warn them."

"Right…" Malik said slowly. "And just who do you propose we send on a potential suicide mission to spy on the infamous Dark Lord?"

Bakura did not, as Malik had expected, tell him to shut up. On the contrary, he smiled and turned to Ryou, who was looking far more cheerful than he had done all week. Bakura took over a second later, and Ryou appeared in spirit form, watching as the thief pulled a card from the deck in his hands.

"Souls of the Forgotten!" he bellowed, and a second later, the lost spirits appeared, sweeping around the dorm dramatically. Bakura smirked.

"Here are our spies," he said simply. Malik beamed and even Yami looked pleased.

"Awesome!" Yugi said, before frowning slightly. "But won't it drain you if they stay out all the time?"

Bakura shook his head. "I think I might be able to channel magic from the school to keep them alive. If it works I shouldn't be affected at all…unless they get tortured or something…"

Malik hastily knocked on the wood of his bedpost as Bakura cleared his throat. The spirits immediately lined up in front of him.

"You sent for us master?" they chorused in hoarse voices.

"I did," Bakura acknowledged. "I want you to locate the man who is controlled by the magic of the Orichalcos. He should have minions also using the magic, but only he should be able to freely wield its complete power. Once you have found him, listen in on the goings on around him, but stay out of sight. I shall send for one of you to report to me once a week."

The spirits hunched over into what everyone assumed was a bow, before vanishing out of the nearest window.

"There we go!" Bakura said happily. "Problem solved! We should have all the information we need soon."

"Bakura having a decent plan," Malik muttered. "Now I've seen everything."

He was treated to a smack around the head from the scowling thief.

"Well at least now we have some ears," Yugi pointed out. "I'll write back to Joey, but I'll have to be careful about how I word it…we don't want Voldemort intercepting our letters and finding about before they've even found him."

He rummaged around immediately for some parchment and a quill. Bakura vanished back to his soul room, and Ryou got up.

"I'm going to go visit Hagrid. I'll see you all later."

Yugi mumbled a vague goodbye from inside his trunk as Ryou vanished off down the staircase. Malik went to his own bed and flopped down dramatically.

"Well that can only be good," he remarked. Yugi looked up confused.

"What do you mean?"

"That's the first time Ryou's smiled since last week," Malik explained, with a grin on his own face.

OOO

Deep in a tomb beneath the sands of Egypt, a man was praying.

He did not hear the fierce sandstorm raging above, nor did he feel the sun beating down mercilessly on the desert. His energies were focused elsewhere. Around him, the tomb was completely silent.

This particular tomb was one of many still undiscovered by the rest of the modern world. It was also the only one still occupied by a living soul. After the return of the Pharaoh, the Ishtar family and the rest of the clan guarding the Pharaoh's tomb disbanded, and begun living in the light. Their tomb was abandoned, all the texts and scrolls now in the hands of Odion and Ishizu Ishtar, who was charged with guarding the secrets of the Nameless Pharaoh. The location of the tomb also remained a secret, and would do so until its inevitable discovery by the people of today, who would no doubt wander the area, pointing at the carvings, studying the traps, and eventually discovering the living space of its long gone guardians. They would ponder who had lived here for so many centuries, away from the eyes of the rest of the world, but they would never discover why. The secret would die with the clan members.

_This_ tomb however, had a much darker history then that of the tomb where the inhabitants carved secrets into their children's skin. For this tomb sat in the ruins of what had been a village. A village of thieves.

The hundreds of regular sandstorms had blasted at the buildings. After a time, humans had returned to live here, but none of them ever stayed long. Most were thieves or criminals, who would either meet their end when they stumbled upon this tomb and tried to steal the contents within, or would move out when they breathed the stench of death, which had not left even after five thousand years. This village was a cursed village, and in this tomb beneath its surface, was the last remaining mark of its dark past.

The tomb was cold. Even the torches that hung from the walls could not add much heat. The light too seemed smothered. The only other object present was an enormous stone slab, shaped in a vaguely human form, but with an Egyptian headdress. Carved in the stone were seven holes, each shaped in a certain way, like a giant puzzle waiting to be complete. This puzzle was dark however, stained with the death that had been necessary for its creation.

The figure opened his eyes and stared sadly at the stone. The tears that ran down his cheeks, soaking into worn beige robes were not his own, but those of the souls that had been sacrificed to create the Items. It was their pain and their suffering that he cried for.

Someone had upset the balance again. It was up to him to fix it. And he had failed. All week long he had been searching for the missing Item, as soon as he had felt it resurface. But he had been unable to locate it; the energies that he had been tracing were being swamped by another form of magic. For centuries he had stood guard over the Items and their destinies, ensuring that only the worthy possessed them. Now, for the second time in the last two years, this Item had changed hands, slipping out of view once more.

He prayed hard. It was his duty to guard the Items, and he would fulfil it.

Even if it took him another life time to do so.

OOO

"She's doin' fine Ryou," Hagrid smiled. "She's been tryin' ter move around lately, but I've been keepin' her still as best I can. She needs exercise, but if she pulls those stitches out then she'll be in trouble."

Ryou smiled, and stroked Bastet behind the ears. The cat purred and lapped at his fingers, before turning her head and trying to gnaw at her stitches. She gave up quickly and began licking at her master's fingers again.

"Had ter put a charm on the stitches so she won't bite em," Hagrid explained. "Makes em taste summat foul."

Ryou giggled as Bastet attempted to chew again. This time when she pulled away, Ryou could almost see the disgust on her face. He supposed it was better than a normal vet, where she would have to wear a plastic cone around her head.

"Thanks for looking after her Hagrid," he said.

"Nah its fine," the giant said, waving a hand airily. "I've seen Madam Pomfrey for me allergies, and Fang seems to like her."

Ryou spared the huge dog a weary look. He had been rather alarmed the first time he had been to visit Hagrid, when the excitable canine had pushed him to the ground and thoroughly licked his face clean.

"Poor little scrap though," Hagrid said. "They're nasty things cutting curses. Hope whoever did this is sorry fer it now."

Ryou thought of Malfoy, who was still locked in a Penalty Game. He was sure that if he ever got out he would probably be very sorry. But for now he settled on nodding.

"Been meanin' to talk to yeh Ryou," Hagrid said, sitting back at the table. Ryou got off his feet and went to sit at the chair opposite.

"What about?" he asked.

"Harry, Ron and Hermione," Hagrid said. Ryou's face fell instantly.

"There's nothing to talk about really Hagrid," he said.

"I think there is," the giant said firmly. "They came down to see me last weekend. They told me what happened last Wednesday…"

Ryou gave no reaction, so Hagrid continued.

"I can understand why you're upset Ryou," he told him. "But yeh not gainin' anything from not speaking to em."

"I'm angry Hagrid," Ryou said, and was alarmed to hear his voice tremble slightly. "They looked at my letters! They found them and they read them! If they were really sorry they would have just put them back."

"I'm not defendin' em," Hagrid said. "I'm just…well, it seems to me that you not willing to hear that they're sorry…"

"I don't care if they're sorry," Ryou shook his head. "It…it hurts too much Hagrid…when people find out they feel sorry for you. I don't want that. I want to move on…but it never stops hurting. Because every time someone feels sorry for you, you remember that they're gone…you never forget them and you never stop hurting."

He brushed away an angry tear.

"I do understand," Hagrid assured him. "Really, I do. Neither of my folks are around. Never forget me old Dad. An' every time I remember him it hurts a little bit. But it's good that it hurts really. Because it means we'll never forget them."

Up at the castle, the bell rang, and Hagrid got up from his seat.

"Well I've got a class of third years to teach, so I'll have to be leavin' yeh Ryou," he said, picking up his crossbow (Ryou wondered vaguely what sort of creatures the poor third years could be studying that would require Hagrid to bring his crossbow). "But just think about what I said, 'kay?"

And he plodded out of the cabin; Ryou sighed and sat down next to Bastet again, thinking over what the half giant had said. Bakura fazed out next to him.

"He does have a point," he said. And Ryou did not need to ask what, as Bastet batted a paw sleepily at the translucent Tomb Robber.

OOO

"And…I…am…done!" Malik cheered, flopping back onto his bed and holding his essay above his head ecstatically. "Malik you genius!"

"Are you talking to yourself?" Neville asked. Malik flipped over onto his stomach and poked his head out from the curtains of his bed. His roommate had appeared in the doorway, with his own homework under his arms.

"Sort of," Malik grinned. "You done with your homework?" Neville beamed back.

"Yep. Wanted to get it out of the way before Hogsmeade next weekend. You going?"

"Sure, my sister has developed a taste for some of the sweets I bought back over Christmas," Malik reported. "And…well I have too!"

He rolled back onto his back, before sitting up and throwing his homework into his schoolbag. Now that he had nothing to do however, he began to feel bored, so he tugged the curtains shut again, decided to change out of his uniform. The material was making his back itch.

The door opened again, and Harry and Ron stomped in. They had been looking all over for Ryou, but their albino friend was very good at disappearing, and Hermione had eventually requested that they go back and start on homework. As much as they did not want to, Harry and Ron had agreed. Seeing the curtain's drawn around Malik's bed however, they decided to do something more productive. Muttering a hello to Neville, Ron knocked on the post of Malik's bed.

"Malik is not in right now," the figure behind the curtains said. "Please leave a message after the beep."

Ron looked very confused, but Harry just rolled his eyes and pulled the curtains back. Malik leaped a foot in the air, before throwing up his hands in exasperation.

"I'm changing here guys," he said angrily, gesturing to his bare chest.

"It's nothing we haven't seen before," Harry reminded him. Malik rolled his eyes.

"Don't remind me," he muttered, taking the curtain from Harry's hand and wrenching it shut again, muttering something about people having a lack of privacy in this country. He reappeared five second later, his torso now covered with his favourite lavender shirt.

"Now, what was so important it couldn't wait until I had my shirt on?" he asked, folding his arms.

"We're looking for Ryou," Harry said quickly. "Do you know where he is?"

"At a guess, I'd say he's staying away from you," Malik said bluntly, reaching for his jacket. "Not that I can exactly blame him after the way you made him feel."

"That's why we want to find him," Ron protested. "We want to say sorry, and…we want to come clean with you all about why we were sneaking around in the first place."

"I would love to hear that story Ron," Malik said, picking up his deck and his duel disk. "I would be most interested. But unfortunately I'm not the one you pissed off. So when Ryou is ready to forgive you for prying into his personal life, then I will happily listen. But not a minute sooner. Now have any of you seen Yugi? I'm bored and I need to let off some steam. Right now, that means duelling."

Harry sighed. "We haven't seen him either." Malik rolled his eyes.

"Well if you can't find Yugi, who as far as I know is not hiding from you, then you don't have much hope of finding Ryou."

And with those parting words, he turned and left the room, strapping his duel disk onto his left arm as he went. Harry and Ron exchanged exasperated looks. They just wanted this to end. The sooner they could talk to Ryou, the better.

"Erm guys…" said a timid voice, and they whirled around. They had completely forgotten that Neville was present in the dormitory too. "Did you have some kind of falling out with the transfers?"

Harry and Ron exchanged another look.

"You could say that Neville," Ron remarked.

OOO

Yami walked purposefully towards the headmaster's office. He had persuaded Yugi to leave the library for half an hour so that he could have control of the body. Yugi had retreated to his soul room for some sleep, promising himself that he would get the bulk of his homework out of the way later, so that he could enjoy the weekend ahead. The spirit of the Puzzle meanwhile had decided to do something that was long overdue.

He was going to visit the headmaster.

He knew ever since the Shadow Game with Malfoy, that Dumbledore probably had accurate suspicions as to who was behind it. And since Professor Snape had been found on the verge of stalking them through the corridors, he guessed that the Defence teacher was suspicious too. It was no surprise, as Malfoy was in his house, and he was the Slytherin Quidditch captain. Their match against Ravenclaw was in a week, and Snape had been observed grinding his teeth whenever anyone brought it up.

Yami had to admit, that the longer Malfoy remained comatose, the worse it looked for his hikari. He did not want Yugi to get into trouble for something that he had pulled. So it was up to him to do the right thing, and that meant explaining a few things to Dumbledore. So here he stood, on the stairwell to the headmaster's office, struggling to keep a straight face as he said the password. His mirth had subsided however by the time he was knocking on the door. There was a call of acknowledgement from inside, and Yami stepped in.

Dumbledore was standing in front of a cabinet in amongst the bookshelves, his back to the door, and a silvery glow coming from the basin before him. He closed the cabinet and turned around to face the Pharaoh.

"Yugi Mutou…or perhaps not?"

Yami shook his head.

"I am not Yugi," he said. "But you knew that already."

It was a statement, not a question. Dumbledore inclined his head.

"True. Professor Snape and I have been detecting the conversations between you and Yugi for quite some time. I would be correct therefore to assume that I am addressing the Nameless Pharaoh?"

The tri colour haired spirit nodded.

"You sensed me before we arrived at Hogwarts?" he asked.

"I did," the headmaster admitted. "I realised very quickly that there were two souls in Yugi's mind, where only one should be. That and…the Sorting Hat is very talkative, and shared the details of what it learned from Yugi and Mr Bakura."

He inclined his head to the patched and ragged hat on the shelf, which stood there motionless. Yami threw the offending artefact a glare, remembering his threat at the beginning of term, and wondering if Archfiend of Gilfer was still hungry.

"You must forgive us for not telling you right from the beginning," the Pharaoh said. "Bakura and I have been secrets for so long. Knowledge brings power and danger in its wake. For your safety, ours and everyone else around us, we told you nothing."

He bowed to the headmaster, who looked musingly at the person before him. He looked like the young Japanese boy whom he had seen in his corridors, but a darker more imposing version of him. His eyes were a rich crimson, the colour of red wine, and were narrowed in seriousness. His stance, posture and manner were calm as though he were totally in control of the situation. You could tell from looking at him, that he had been someone of immense power and responsibility.

"I can understand why you kept it to yourselves," he said. "And I am grateful that you have decided to approach me honestly now. But I take it there is more to this meeting than just introductions?"

Yami raised his eyebrows. Dumbledore knew exactly what he had come here for. He was just waiting for him to say it. He sighed heavily and fingered the Puzzle as he spoke.

"I am afraid, I have a confession to make," he said. "Draco Malfoy's condition is not merely a coma. He lost a game to me, and now his soul is trying to escape the punishment."

Now it was Dumbledore who raised his eyebrows. "A Shadow Game perchance?"

Yami nodded, not breaking the headmaster's gaze.

"You are aware of Shadow Games?"

"Only in legend," Dumbledore said. "The Games were sealed away five thousand years ago after they nearly destroyed Egypt. They are now merely a myth that very few believe, though unless I am mistaken, I believe the game of Duel Monsters is based off them. If I were to assume again from the evidence being presented to me, you were the Pharaoh who sealed them away?"

Yami nodded again, but this time, his eyes were suspicious. Dumbledore was taking this far too calmly.

"You do not seem to be alarmed for someone who has just been told I sealed one of his students in a game where his soul is on the line," he said bluntly. Dumbledore sighed.

"I am not alarmed," he said. "I had my suspicions that Mr Malfoy's condition was not entirely natural. I am however curious as to why you felt the need to take such lengths to punish him."

For the first time during this meeting, Yami looked angry. His eyes narrowed and seemed to glow a menacing scarlet.

"Draco Malfoy is a misguided boy," he said. "But he is also a bully. And I do not tolerate anyone who threatens my Aibou in such a manner."

Dumbledore recognised the Japanese sentiment and he guessed that he was talking about Yugi.

"You care for Yugi very much," he stated. "That alone tells me a lot about your nature."

The spirit looked broodingly at the cabinet that Dumbledore had been standing before earlier. The glow from it reminded him of that which sometimes emerged from Yugi's soul room behind the closed door. He thought of his light, sleeping peacefully away in his soul room, a place of light and innocence, the complete opposite of his own which was dark and confusing.

"You own a pensive Professor," he said, nodding at where he knew lay the basin containing Dumbledore's memories. "You have so many thoughts and memories, that you need extra space to store them all." He looked sadly off out the window now. "I remember nothing of my past. Not my friends, family or even my own name. Nothing but five thousand years of darkness before Yugi released me from the Millennium Puzzle. I would give anything to have half the memories you do."

He turned his head back to the headmaster.

"You say I care very much for Yugi," he said. "I do. At first I cared because he was light, something I had been craving for five millennia. I had been trapped in the darkness for so long. I basked in that light, and I protected him from everything, banishing anyone who threatened him without the slightest thought. I know Bakura was very much the same, though perhaps not as protective for the same reasons."

He seemed to lapse into thought for a second before continuing.

"I protect Yugi now, but not because I relish his light, or because he is my reason for existing. I care for him because he is a good person, who has taught me many things. My mind may be empty and dark where my past is concerned, but it is filled instead with the light of friendship that Yugi has shown me. And _anyone_ who tries to take that away from me, suffers the consequences."

Dumbledore studied the young man before him again. He saw how deeply the spirit cared for his host, and he was relieved that Malfoy's current status was not a simple act of spite, though of course it did not excuse the Pharaoh's behaviour. He was curious as to how he came to be locked away in the Millennium Puzzle along with the magic of the Shadow Games, but considering how little the spirit seemed to know of his past, it was a mystery that would probably remain unanswered for the time being.

"You realise of course," he said eventually. "That protection or not, I cannot allow you to freely harm the students at this school. As you are charged with protecting Yugi, I am charged with the safety of the children in this establishment."

"I do not seek to cause disruption in your school," Yami said. "I only show concern for my light's wellbeing. But I certainly don't want him to be blamed. Yugi has always hated fighting, and I will not allow him to suffer punishment for my actions."

The headmaster nodded. "I understand that it would be unfair to punish Yugi. You have made it clear that you will not allow any harm to come to him. But in the future I must request that you come to myself or another member of staff before locking my students away. I would also request that you release Draco Malfoy from his punishment."

"I cannot undo Penalty Games once they have been issued," Yami shook his head. "However, I gave Malfoy a chance to escape, if he can discover why he acts that way he does. And the Shadows tell me, that he has a very good chance of escaping. He has already begun his path to redemption."

Dumbledore looked less than pleased about this, but he seemed to accept it.

"I hope you understand the leniency of my actions, and that you heed my warning. If I see you misusing your powers and harm anyone in this building, I will have to take action."

Yami's crimson eyes narrowed at the headmaster, and Dumbledore realised that the spirit was glaring at him in a challenging manner.

"You are wise to fear our magic. Even the bearers fear the power of the Items. But we bear the burden to the end, and the problems it brings because the Items test us, and make us stronger too. What I want to know Professor, is can you bear that responsibility too?"

And without another word he turned and left the office, hands in his pockets, head bowed.

OOO

It was becoming almost a game to Ryou now. He gained points for avoiding Harry, Ron and Hermione, and he lost points every time he was forced to run away from them. The latter tended to happen most mealtimes and mornings when he got up, as he inevitably ended up in the same room as them.

But this time he was restless as he paced the dormitory after dinner. Hagrid's words were sticking in his head, and would not come out. And worse, the simple conversation with the gamekeeper meant he was starting to feel guilty for giving Harry, Ron and Hermione a cold shoulder for the past week. He had no reason to feel guilty! It was they who had done wrong!

He sank back onto the bed, taking great care not to crush the letter he had just finished. He had written once again to Amane, explaining the problem. For some reason, far from making him understand more, the letter had only served to confuse him further, something that had never happened in all the time he had been writing to her.

"What do you think?" he asked, his voice low. There was no one else in the dormitory, so he did not have to worry about being overheard, but it was a habit to keep his voice down anyway. There was a flicker from the Ring, before Bakura fazed out, sitting on the bed next to him. One of his legs was pulled up under his chin, while the other stretched out before him. He was frowning.

"I still don't trust them," he said. "If they looked through your stuff once, what's to stop them from doing it again? And what if next time they take an interest in your deck? Or the Millennium Ring?"

Ryou fingered the Ring absently as his yami spoke.

"I know Hagrid meant well hikari," Bakura said. "But the truth is he doesn't know the full extent of what's going on. Heck it was difficult enough to brush his curiosity away when Change of Heart gave him Bastet."

Ryou nodded. He knew Bakura was right. It was not just the invasion of privacy that he was upset about. It was the idea that Harry, Ron and Hermione would know their secret. The secret that they had been trying to keep for most of the school year. Bakura was disturbed at the idea that Dumbledore may know and he was certainly not happy about Ryou's classmates knowing either. He did not want life to be made difficult for his light. If people knew about the full extent of their powers, they would be tempted to possess it for themselves.

There were footsteps coming from outside the dormitory. Ryou quickly pulled the curtains around his bed, leaving he and Bakura alone behind the fabric. They heard the door open and close. Bakura frowned as he judged the tread of the footsteps and the breathing.

/_You'd better fake sleep or something_/ he advised. /_Its Harry and Ron_/

Ryou quickly shoved the letter under his pillow, but before he could flop against the mattress, the curtains were ripped open, and Harry peered down at him. The albino resisted the urge to roll his eyes (that was more his yami's style than his own) and straightened up with a blank expression on his face. He did not make eye contact with Harry.

"Excuse me Harry, I'm tired," he said politely, turning slightly, so that he faced away from the other boy. "Could you leave me be?"

"Don't fib Ryou," came Ron's voice from the other side of the bed. The second set of curtains were pulled back to reveal the redhead. "You're not tired at all."

"I just want to be alone for a bit," Ryou said, fiddling with a hole in his bedspread.

"We just want to say sorry," Harry said instantly, before the boy could scramble away. "We're sorry we went through your letters. We never should have touched them in the first place…"

"Then why did you?" Ryou demanded, his voice hitting the edge of shrill.

"Because we were worried about you," Ron interjected. "Whatever those Millennium Items of yours are, they're dangerous…"

"Don't pretend to understand that which you have no clue!" Ryou's voice took on a deadly edge, and when he glared at Ron, his eyes were blood coloured. Ron took an involuntary step back.

"You're not Ryou!" he said, pointing at the thief. "You're the ghost that's possessing him! You're Bakura!"

"I'm not a ghost you, moron!" Bakura snapped. "I'm a spirit! Big difference! Ghosts haunt buildings and stuff. Spirits are trapped in people or objects."

"Why do you keep possessing Ryou?" Harry demanded, his hand stuffed in his pocket around the handle of his wand. "Why do you take control of our friend?"

Bakura snorted. "You make it sound as if he has no choice in the matter. Do you honestly think Ryou would let me take control if it were against his will? My hikari is not the wimp that everyone seems to think he is."

He could almost feel the joy radiating off Ryou at that last sentence. After all Bakura was not known for issuing compliments often.

"You put Malfoy in a coma!" Harry challenged.

"No that was his Royal Shortness the Pharaoh," Bakura said dryly. "If I had been the one to get to Malfoy he would not be alive any longer! I would have ripped him limb from limb and enjoyed every second of it!"

He looked satisfied at the way Harry and Ron flinched at his harsh words.

"And how many other people in this building would you like to see dead?" Ron asked. "Whoever you are you're not right in the head."

Bakura grit his teeth. "You're not even a tenth of my age boy so I don't expect you to understand. I would relish in sending nosy little children like you two straight to the Shadow Realm without a second thought. But for some reason I cannot seem to fathom, my hikari actually seems to like you pathetic mortals, despite all that you have put him through the last week."

Harry and Ron exchanged nervous glances. Ryou still liked them? Then why was he still carrying a grudge?

"We just wanted to know if the Items were dangerous or not," Harry said finally. "I think we have a right to know that."

"You!" Bakura laughed scornfully. "Have a right to knowledge which almost caused the downfall of Egypt? Are you an Item bearer? Have you suffered the trials that the magic of the Shadows brings with it? Have you lost your soul to a Shadow Game? Do you have a link to the past? No! You're just two foolish boys who decided to stick their nose in where it did not belong!"

His eyes zoned in on Harry.

"What puzzles me is how low you would both sink to achieve this information. Weasley I might have expected, but you Potter surprised me. Ryou told me that you lost both your parents. And I've heard rumours of others who have fallen around you. Cedric Diggory. Sirius Black. I would think that you of all people would know how much it hurts to lose someone you care for. But no, you read the letters, and you reminded my hikari of just how much he has lost."

Harry was white by the time he had finished. Hearing it come from Bakura only served to make it ten times more painful.

"And in answer to your question," Bakura continued. "The Items are only as dangerous as their wielder. And I should warn you that we are all very dangerous people when provoked."

"Now if you are both done meddling," the thief swung himself off the bed, and knocked past Ron. "I am leaving. And if either of you so much as breathe near Ryou's belongings again, I will send you to join the Malfoy boy in your own personal hell!"

He made to leave, but Ron clearly did not think that they were done. He seized Bakura's wrist as he passed. There was a blast from the Millennium Ring and Ron wound up sprawled on one of the beds. Harry's eyes widened, and his mind whirled with images. The Ring pointing to the Death Eaters in Hogsmeade…Bakura summoning one of his Duel Monsters to life…he remembered all of it! But why had they forgotten in the first place? It must have been some kind of spell…

He hurried to Ron's side, remembering with dread what he had read in Ryou's letters. Was his best friend now soulless?

"Ron! Get up!"

"Enough Bakura!" Harry jumped at the abrupt change in Bakura's tone. The scarlet coloured eyes were gone, replace instead with tearful brown. He realised that Ryou was back in control.

"What did he do to Ron?" he demanded. "Ryou! What did he do?!"

"He just got blasted," Ryou shook his head. "His soul is not gone."

Sure enough, Ron looked up in a daze. He blinked a few times before his eyes were able to focus, passing over Harry, who was knelt at his side, before fixing on Ryou. He scrambled hastily away.

"It's okay Ron," Harry said, realising his friend had not noticed the change. "It's Ryou this time."

"That guy is insane!" Ron spluttered. "Why do you let him do it Ryou?! He takes control of your body!"

"He's not insane!" Ryou protested. "He's my yami! I won't throw him away!"

"You want to put that in English, for those of us who don't speak Japanese?" Harry asked, helping Ron to sit upright. "What's a yami? I thought Yami was the name of the spirit who possessed Yugi?"

"It means dark," Ryou explained. "We don't know the name of the other Yugi."

"Then how on earth can you trust them?" Ron demanded. "They're dark and clearly dangerous…"

"They're not dangerous!" Ryou said shrilly. "And being dark does not mean that they are evil! Bakura's the other half of my soul. He was sealed into the Millennium Ring. He can't exist without me, and I can't be complete without him…"

He trailed off angrily, realising he had said too much, before climbing back onto his bed and ripping both sets of curtains shut. There was a glow from the Millennium Ring, and a mutter from the bed, which sounded like Bakura.

"Spirit Shield!"

Harry got up off the bed, and studied the silhouette of their friend, as he lay down against the pillows. Cautiously, Harry tried to approach the bed, but he was blocked by a giant invisible barrier. He guessed that this was the 'Spirit Shield' that Bakura had summoned.

"Ryou! We're sorry!"

"I don't think he can hear us," Ron said, still rubbing his forehead. He still looked rather dazed. The silhouette behind the curtain lay there unresponsive, but Harry was sure that he could hear faint sobs, which sounded as though they were muffled by a pillow.

OOO

The web was still growing, filling his ears, nose and mouth, squeezing all his limbs, making him feel claustrophobic.

"_Help me! Someone!"_

But no one would hear him. No one would save him. He was a Malfoy. He did not need anyone, especially not those of a lesser blood. He was above them, and he deserved respect because of it.

Or at least that was what he had thought…for most of his life anyway.

Then when he had gone to Hogwarts, he realised that not everyone thought that way. It was as if someone was challenging the way he was bought up, everything he had known his whole life. He felt confused and scared. So he had bullied. He had bullied people because it meant attention. It meant that for a second, he could feel as though there were people watching him, perhaps respecting what he did, meaning that he wasn't alone any more.

"_Lies," _he realised bitterly. "_All of it! It only made me more alone in the end!"_

And just like that, the web stopped growing. Breathing became a little easier. He felt surprise course through him. What had happened to stop it? Tentatively he tried to move his head. Yes the web did feel slightly looser…was it his revelation he had just had?

The feeling of hopelessness crashed down again. He was still stuck, still afraid…still alone. He was never getting out of there.

"_I wish someone could hear me,"_ he prayed. "_Anyone…I don't want to be alone any more…"_

He did not notice that the web was slowly loosening its hold further. He was too caught up in his own thoughts to care.

"_I thought that everyone was beneath me. But they're not beneath me. My family was wrong. They aren't worse than us. I did not understand that. No one understood what I believed…"_

The web slithered inch by inch out of his throat and ears. Tears began to flow from his eyes and into the web, wrapped around his head.

"_No one cares. I was so horrible to them. And now when I need them no one cares. No one has noticed that I'm trapped here. No one will help me because no one cares about me. I need help…"_

The web shrank back in on itself, freeing the ends of his fingers.

"_I need someone to understand me…"_

His mouth was free, and the last words were spoken in a hoarse whisper.

"I need a friend…"

The Shadows screamed with rage as their victim was released from his bindings, and vanished from their grasp to rejoin the body in the mortal world.

OOO

Bakura paced his soul room restlessly. Something felt off. Something had felt very off for the past week. At first he had been too worried about Bastet and too concerned that his hikari was about to sink into depression to notice. But now that he had time to think, he realised what it was that was throwing him. It was a tiny little shift in the magic at Hogwarts. He had felt it when the Orichalcum had first been bought into the castle at Halloween, while Ryou did the tarot reading. It was like the balance of power had been tipped and he did not know how. And Bakura, the great Thief King of Egypt, did not like not knowing something. It made him feel unprepared and vulnerable.

Ryou had fallen asleep sometime ago, not wanting to leave his bed, for fear of being ambushed by Harry and Ron again. The two had left soon after the argument, presumably to go fill Hermione in. Now they and the rest of the dormitory slept. Bakura fazed out onto the bed, taking care not to wake Ryou.

Ryou's letters caught his attention, now stuffed under his pillow, with the corner of the most recent sticking out just enough to be noticed. Bakura sighed and his eyes flicked over to Ryou, who was frowning in his sleep.

"_I really have gone soft,"_ the thief thought to himself, as the overwhelming urge to protect his hikari at his most vulnerable flared up. "_Haven't felt like this in a while…not since Egypt at any rate…_"

Like a spell, Hagrid's words haunted wandered his mind like a lost soul.

"_It's good that it hurts really. Because it means we'll never forget them."_

He had forgotten them. He had forgotten everyone in Egypt. His home…his family… Only when his powers had started to grow had he begun to remember. And only when he was locked in the Shadow Realm did some of it become clearer to him. He had forgotten everyone, only remembering his greed and his desire to possess the Items. Why he wanted them, he had forgotten too. But now he remembered…

He gazed at his spectral hands. Long thin fingers, lightning fast and skilled at picking locks, untying knots, or just wielding a knife. His skin was pale like his host's, but after five thousand years trapped in the Ring, it was not surprising that his tan had faded. He traced a finger down his eye, faintly feeling the three scars that had been cut into his flesh all those years ago. When he controlled Ryou's body, he took on most of his hikari's traits, including his physique, and also losing the scars on his face. The only thing he retained in possession was his eye colour. As the window to the soul, they were the one thing that changed with him. In spirit form however, he appeared more as he had been in Egypt.

And then there was Ryou. Long white hair, in the same style as his mother's, always a source of pain for his grieving father. It was no surprise really that the man stayed away. Bakura had seen photographs and he knew that Ryou was very like his mother. The same eyes, the same face structure, the same spirit... his sister Amane had taken more after the father, being outgoing and cheeky at times. Yet rather than repel each other, the two siblings had clicked. Amane had understood Ryou in a way that no one else had. Bakura sighed. He had felt the same way about his own sisters…especially Akila…

He shook his head, berating himself for his little trip down memory lane. Thinking of the past would not sort out this magical disturbance. He knew the disturbance had been felt by the Pharaoh and Malik too, but it felt more pronounced to him the more he thought about it, almost as though it affected him more than anyone. It was almost like dangling something obvious in front of his eyes and yet he could not see it…

He froze, his hand paused over the scar on his eye again, as he realised what it was.

He had not seen the Millennium Eye for over a week.

OOO

Albus Dumbledore pinched the bridge of his long crooked nose, as he paced the room for the fiftieth time that evening. His buckled boots clacked across the stone floor as he walked, and the hand that had reached for his face rejoined the other behind his back. He frowned, his piercing blue eyes watching the floor go past as he thought.

His conversation with the Pharaoh, while reassuring on most levels, had also troubled him too. Though it was certainly a relief to have the full story behind the unique powers of the transfers, at the same time it presented more problems than before. Hogwarts had had talented students; some possessing strange or unique conditions or abilities, but this was by far one of the most complex situations that the headmaster had ever come across.

Dumbledore had seen and heard of cases where people had been possessed by fragments of another's spirit, more often than not malevolent. But he had never been in a situation such as this, where the hosts welcomed and cared for the extra people. Dumbledore had to admire both boys and the patience they must have living with another soul inside their bodies.

One thing Dumbldore knew was that he was usually a good judge of character. His failing was his ability to forgive and trust people too easily. Seeing the good in everyone was not necessarily a good thing. It meant you could be blinded easily.

He knew he detected no malice in either Yugi or Ryou. Yugi's heart was pure and his intentions and friendly nature were sincere. Ryou was very much the same, though the boy seemed to wear an air of sadness, caused by past suffering. But like Yugi he sought only to help others, even if they were perhaps less deserving of it.

Their other halves however were completely different. The Pharaoh seemed sincere, and the fact that he had owned up to punishing Malfoy showed that he did at least have a conscience. But how far would he go the next time Yugi was threatened? Would the same hold true for the spirit that possessed Ryou? Having never met the other spirit, Dumbledore could not be sure, but he remembered that Yami had described him as being protective too.

Dumbledore did not like being unprepared in a situation, especially where people in his care were under threat because of it. For all his knowledge and wisdom, he was powerless against the magic of the Millennium Items and the Shadow Realm. If one of the three transfers decided to abuse their power, he could only count on the other two to stop it.

The headmaster sighed and shook his head, sitting himself behind his desk. For now, he would just have to trust in them both. He had asked them, along with their hosts to protect the school in his absence. He hoped that the Pharaoh at least, would honour that agreement.

As he came to this conclusion, he was startled, as a ripple of magic seemed to echo around the room. Fawkes shrieked in alarm and took flight, as Dumbledore stood up to locate the disturbance. An influx of magic like this could only come from a foreign power source, or from someone breaching the schools defences. He did not have to look far to find the disturbance however.

The floor was rippling like the broken surface of a pond. As he watched, a white knot of cloth appeared from within. The man who emerged from the floor, rose out slowly, his white robes falling around him, his tanned skin creating a stark contrast against the clothing. He wore a turban on his head, and gold earrings hung from his ears. Dumbledore's eyes focused on the objects around his neck and in his arms. Strung from a length of rope was a gold pendant shaped as an Egyptian ankh, and cupped in the palms of both his hands was a set of scales, also gold. Dumbledore swallowed, recognising the pulse of magical energy. It was ancient and dark, and exactly like that of the magic surrounding the transfers.

"May I help you sir?" he asked politely. The stranger opened his eyes and stared at the headmaster. Blue, almost as strong as Dumbledore's own, fixed on him. But unlike the mortal, these eyes were blank and distant.

"I am the guardian of the seven Millennium Items," the man announced. "I've been the keeper of the Egyptian Tombs for five millennia. I am a servant of Anubis."

* * *

**A/N: **Oh look everyone. It's my most hated character. Let's throw things at him! (Chucks rotten tomatoes at Shadi)

Seriously, I despise him…

To all my reviewers – thanks for your patience with this update! If you were wondering, my assignments are all done (throws Debates in Media Studies papers out of the window in joy)! So yeah, it's the summer holidays! Yay! I will hopefully be updating more regularly now in between all my other projects I have over the summer…and y'know going back to work.

I will be flying home on Monday, so my next update will probably be sometime at the end of next week, once I'm settled back in.

Isis: Oooohhhh… Headhunt for Ron and Harry! (Cackles) Where's my pitchfork and torch??

Bakura: (hands her torch and pitchfork) Here ya go.

Isis: Thanks!

Mei: BURN THE WITCH!


	22. Chapter 22: Yami no Game

**Disclaimer: **If I owned YuGiOh or Harry Potter d'you think I'd be posting on here?...actually knowing me, I probably would just for the hell of it.

**Because you all asked: **A lot of you asked in your reviews why I hate Shadi so much. The simple answer is that I've read the manga. I won't spoil it for those of you that haven't read it, but there's a lot of death, soul manipulation and putting innocent lives in danger just to 'test' if Yami is worthy of the Puzzle.

Yeah…I just spoilt several chapters of manga for you…sorry.

But the thing that ticks me off the most is that in the manga and anime, Shadi was the reason Malik went on a revenge spree against Yami (as will be mentioned in the below chapter). He essentially told Malik that his father's death was Yami's will. So in my mind, Shadi has a hell of a lot to answer for. Its no surprise that if I ever met him I'd probably punch him…or ram that Key into his forehead and see how he likes having his soul room wiped clean!

Okay, ranting over. Enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 22: Yami no Game**

Harry awoke to the sounds of panicked shouting. Vaguely he wondered if he was still dreaming, until he recognised the voice. Through his curtains he could just make out someone moving around hastily. He rolled over and felt for his glasses, before pulling back the curtains. The dial on his watch read just after midnight. It was far too late for people to still be up.

Ryou – no Bakura, he realised – had ripped back the curtains around Yugi's bed and was shaking his friend awake. His trunk appeared to have exploded all over the bed, with robes strewn about the sheets, pockets turned inside out, notes scrunched up into balls, and a box of Duel Monster cards open on the pillow, the contents spread about haphazardly. Harry raised an eyebrow at the wreckage.

"Yugi!" the thief snapped, giving a final impatient shove. The Puzzle glowed and a second later Yami sat up, seizing Bakura's wrist angrily.

"Any particular reason you are manhandling my light Bakura?!" he demanded angrily in Egyptian. Bakura wrenched his wrist free.

"Someone has stolen the Millennium Eye!" he snapped urgently. Yami's eyes narrowed.

"You lost it?!" he shouted angrily.

"No it was stolen!" Bakura corrected, a flush of colour on his neck.

"What in Ra's name are you two arguing about now?!" Malik asked, having finally woken up in all the commotion. "Can't you save fighting until the morning?"

"Bakura has lost the Eye!" Yami said immediately.

"It was stolen!" Bakura spluttered. "I don't lose things Pharaoh!"

"The Eye is gone?!" Malik asked in alarm. He shot off the bed, grabbing the Rod and a T-shirt as he went. "What happened to it?!"

"If I knew that, I would not be ripping the room apart looking for it would I?" Bakura said impatiently.

"I dunno," Malik said, taking a look at the mess. "Could be your new hobby…"

"Oh shove a sock in it!" Bakura snapped, pulling the Ring out from underneath the T-shirt that Ryou had worn to bed. Yami quickly rummaged through his light's own trunk and was relieved to find the Millennium Necklace tucked away next to the Puzzle box. He stowed it into his pocket for safekeeping.

"Ring!" Bakura snapped, caring little for the staring eyes of Harry and a groggy looking Ron. "Find…"

He had not even finished when the pointers went wild, dragging him off towards the door. Not even bothering to stop for slippers or a dressing gown, he bolted from the room.

"Bakura!" Malik yelled, seizing his own dressing gown and deck, hooking the Millennium Rod into the waistband of his pyjamas and taking off after him.

"Damn it thief!" Yami snarled, grabbing Ryou and Bakura's own cards from the bedside table and hurtling out the door and after the other two Item bearers.

Harry and Ron exchanged bemused looks.

"What the hell?" Ron summarised. Harry shrugged.

"Tomb Robber!" Yami shouted, as all three of them followed the pulling of the Ring towards the staircase. Bakura was cursing himself for being so stupid. He could not believe that he had gone a week without noticing the Eye's disappearance. He had let Ryou keep it in his trunk recently as he knew it creeped his hikari out. Now it seemed someone had taken advantage of that and Bakura was fuming. He had not, after all this time, allowed such a valuable object to be snatched from right under his nose, especially after so much work to get it. He would get it back and may the Gods help anyone who stood in his way!

"Bakura will you please slow down and think this through?!" Malik seemed to realise what he had just said and he quickly amended. "Who am I kidding? He doesn't think. Will you please just stop?!"

Bakura jarred to a sudden halt, and Malik was momentarily amazed that he had listened to him. This thought did not last long however, as Bakura was patting down his pockets searching for something.

"Looking for this?" Yami asked, holding his rival's deck up. Bakura made a wild snatch for it, but Yami jerked his hand out of reach.

"I don't have time to play games Pharaoh!" Bakura snarled. "Deck. Now!"

"You are not facing this thief alone." Yami said firmly. "We're coming too!"

"Like hell!" Bakura snapped. "The Eye belongs to me. This is my fight!"

"This is _our _fight Bakura!" Malik said, folding his arms. "None of us want to see you or Ryou get hurt." He sighed and dragged a hand through his messy hair. "We want to help. We're a part of this too. If someone is stealing Items we want to catch them, or they could take ours too."

Bakura's glare seemed to darken, and the Ring gave an impatient tug around his neck. He snatched his deck from Yami.

"Do what you want," he said brusquely, before moving to a point in the corridor that the Ring indicated.

"I hope he doesn't do anything stupid," Yami muttered to the Tomb Keeper. Both of them jumped as Bakura shouted, the Ring glowing vibrantly, a single card held before it.

"Diabound, come fourth!"

In a burst of shadow, the white fiend appeared in the corridor.

"That thing gives me the creeps," Malik muttered. Yami raised an eyebrow as the Egyptian boy shivered.

Bakura heard this and thought briefly about telling Malik exactly why his Ka was so powerful. The Shadow creature was so strong, because it amassed all the hatred of the little boy who had lost his family, as well as being fed by the wandering spirits of Kul Elna, restless for revenge. Yes that would be quite the horror story to feed to the Tomb Keeper. But it would also require a detailed explanation of the events at Kul Elna, and he really did not want to go into that just yet. He had more important issues. So he just sighed and allowed the snake tail to wrap around him. He gave the others an impatient look.

"Well?" he snapped. "I thought you wanted to come?"

Yami jumped in surprise at the sharp summons. He had expected Bakura to try and shake them off again. But the thief seemed to have resigned himself to the fact that there would be no stopping them. So he folded his arms and glared.

"We don't have all night gentlemen," he said, almost wearily. "Just give Diabound an arm and he'll take us all through the floor to the thief."

Both Pharaoh and Tomb Keeper approached cautiously, Diabound seizing their outstretched limbs in its own hands.

/_Bet they think I've gone soft_/ Bakura thought with a sigh, remembering his thoughts just before he had discovered that the Eye was missing. /_Maybe I have gone soft…_/

/_It's not necessarily a bad thing Yami_/ Ryou muttered.

/_It is for me_/ the thief replied stubbornly, and before Ryou could retort, Diabound and his three passengers sank through the floor in the direction of the Ring's pointers.

OOO

Albus Dumbledore was not a man who could be easily amazed. He had seen many strange and unbelievable things in his long life, so there was very little that could take him by surprise. However having an Egyptian man materialise through the floor of his office probably took the cake. He quickly masked his shock, as the man placed the Scales on the desk before him and lifted the Millennium Key from his neck.

The Item glowed, hovering in midair, before turning point first and ramming into the headmasters forehead. Completely stunned, Dumbledore could not move as his soul was invaded by the newcomer.

It was in this position that Yami, Bakura and Malik found them as they sank through the ceiling and into the office. Diabound released all of them at once.

"Shadi!" Yami gasped.

"I'm gonna kill him!" Malik screamed, launching himself at the otherwise occupied Egyptian as soon as he was free of Diabound's grasp. Yami seized him under the arms to halt his rampage. Bakura recalled his Ka, before smacking the Ring against the desk.

"Stupid thing! You were supposed to take us to the Millennium Eye, not the Key and Scales!"

There was a blast from the Millennium Rod and Shadi was thrown from Dumbledore's mind. The Egyptian man crashed into the floor and the headmaster blinked as he stumbled backwards into his chair, mildly dazed from the invasion.

"I am going to kill you you lying, good for nothing, life destroying, soul raping little bastard!" Malik screamed, advancing on the rising Shadi with a homicidal look in his eye worthy of his yami. The Pharaoh restrained him again.

"Malik will you please calm down?!" Yami yelled in his ear. "He's on our side!"

"Not mine he isn't!" Malik retorted angrily. "He told me my father's death was your will Pharaoh! He lied to me! And that lie is what fed my anger for the next five years of my life! I tried to _kill_ you because of that son of a bitch! Don't think for one _second_ that he is _on our side_!"

There was a bang and a series of purple firecrackers erupted from the end of Dumbledore's wand. Everyone fell silent and Shadi straightened up, rubbing the back of his head where he had landed.

"While I sympathise with your situation Malik, I do not believe that killing him would achieve anything," Dumbledore said.

"It would make me feel better!" Malik retorted, but he sounded more petulant than pissed, and Dumbledore held up a hand to silence him. Yami meanwhile, turned to the Guardian.

"What are you doing here Shadi?"

The Egyptian man bowed to Yami. "My Pharaoh. I am here because I sensed a disturbance in the Items…"

"If this is about the Eye we know already," Bakura interrupted. "Someone swiped it off me and my hikari, sometime in the last week."

Shadi's gaze narrowed intently. "Then you were the thief who stole the Millennium Eye from Pegasus at the end of Duellist Kingdom?"

Bakura smirked, clearly still pleased with that little victory.

"Steal I did not," he said. "For once. I beat him in a Shadow Game, with each of us anteing up our Items. I won, simple as that."

"That Item was never meant to be yours," Shadi said, anger pulsing from his usually monotonous voice. "You disturbed the balance."

"I beg to differ," Bakura snapped. "The Eye recognises me as its Master. It works perfectly well, and my hikari did not even have to lose an eye for it."

"Enough!" Yami shouted, causing both the Tomb Robber and the Guardian to fall silent. "Who is to blame or not to blame for Pegasus does not matter any longer. What matters is who stole it now."

He narrowed his eyes and focused on Shadi. "You came to search for the thief when you sensed the Eye change hands?"

Shadi nodded. "I sensed the disturbance a week ago, but I could not pinpoint the location until now. The magic of this building made tracing the mystical energies difficult."

Bakura's head snapped up, his mind racing. Shadi had sensed the Eye change hands about a week ago. That was about the last time either he or Ryou had seen it. What else had been disturbed in the past week…? Yami however continued to glare at the Egyptian man.

"So you started your search by ramming your Key into the forehead of an innocent bystander?"

Shadi spared Dumbledore a glance. "Hardly innocent my Pharaoh, and I am afraid I must suspect everyone until I have found the thief…"

"That stretches to include us too I suppose?" Malik asked sourly. Yami shot him a warning look, before turning back to Shadi.

"Everyone has darkness in their hearts Shadi. If you intend to search everyone who has ever done wrong then you will be in this castle for a very long time…"

"I'm going to kill them!" came an angry yell from Bakura. Everyone jumped. The thief was clutching the Millennium Ring, which was now properly tuned into the Eye, the pointers pointing upwards through the ceiling. Bakura had apparently come to his own conclusions about the thief. Or rather thieves…

"They took it!" he fumed. "When they were looking through Ryou's letters! The bastards took it!"

He turned on his heel as Yami and Malik realised who he was talking about. There were only two people who he could possibly be referring too, especially considering that they had recently discovered the yami's existence. Frantic for Harry and Ron's safety, Yami and Malik turned to race after Bakura. The thief however, doubled over, and a second later, Ryou was left in his place.

"You're not coming out until you calm down Bakura!" he shouted at the Ring. Yami and Malik pulled him upright. It was clear that Ryou, fearful for the safety of their roommates, had shoved the thief back into his soul room.

"Sorry about him," he muttered, trying to ignore the steady stream of curses coming from his mind.

"Good thing you can control him," Malik said. Ryou looked hesitantly at Shadi, unsure what to make of the slightly intimidating bearer of the Key and Scales, for he had never seen him before.

"What my Yami meant to say was, we're going to get the Eye back from them."

Shadi held up a hand to stall the boy. "Before that I have to make sure that you and the Spirit of the Ring are worthy to control the power of the Eye."

Ryou's eyes narrowed, and everyone thought for a second that Bakura was back. "Then why did you not test me when I first received the Ring? Or when Yugi and Yami received the Puzzle and Necklace?"

"He did test us for the Puzzle," Yami corrected, remembering with a scowl the Shadow Game in which Shadi had almost strangled Joey, and used the Millennium Key to rework Tea's soul room so that she was his mindless puppet. He had then placed her in danger to provide an incentive for Yami and Yugi to play.

"You never told us!" Malik said reproachfully. "And that does not explain the Necklace. Big sister was never tested for the power, and I was not for the Rod."

Shadi shook his head. "You and Ishizu are both Guardian's of the Pharaoh's Tomb. The right to the Rod and Necklace was in your blood."

Malik scowled at him for so much as daring to mention his family after everything he had put him through. Yami, seeing that the Tomb Keeper's temper would not hold for long, decided to move on.

"As for the Necklace, I don't actually use it like Ishizu did. It's only shown me the one vision in Battle City. Ryou and Bakura however use the Eye all the time."

"And as for the Ring," Shadi picked up, glancing at the Item around Ryou's neck. "You were indeed tested, by the Item itself."

"I was?" Ryou asked, clutching at the Ring absently. The Guardian nodded.

"The Millennium Ring has killed all those unworthy to bear its power in the past. Only the person destined to hold the Ring can wear it without death befalling them. When the Ring's full power was awoken – at the time you first came into contact with the Millennium Puzzle – the Item then attempted to attach to you permanently. This was the true test."

"I thought that was Bakura's doing?" Ryou asked.

"Attach itself?" Yami asked accusingly. Ryou ignored him.

"Not entirely," Shadi continued, answering Ryou's question. "The attachment was the test, to prove that you would not let the power of the Item control you. However you broke free of the Item after your first Shadow Game against the Pharaoh, proving that you would not let the Ring or the spirit control you. You passed the test."

Ryou looked down accusingly at the pointers of the Ring, remembering how they had wedged themselves into his skin. At the time he had thought that it was just Bakura making sure that Ryou never took it off.

/_Partially_/ Bakura seemed to have calmed down. /_But I would have had the Ring do it anyway. I did not want to let the Puzzle get away from me that easily_/

"So how do I get tested for the Eye?" Ryou asked aloud. "Because I can tell you right now I am not sticking it in my eye socket. Bakura and I can use it fine on its own. And you are not ramming that Key into my forehead either. Yami and I don't like intruders."

"Don't weigh their hearts either," Yami advised glancing at the Scales on the desk. "We'll be here all night weighing Bakura's sins alone."

Now that he was calm again, Bakura took over and spared the Pharaoh a withering glance.

"What I was going to say," Shadi cut in. "Was different. I shall be testing Ryou…"

"And me," Bakura cut in angrily. "Where my hikari goes I shall too."

Shadi narrowed his eyes. "It is he, not you who shall bear the Eye, Thief King."

"Bakura and I are in this together," Ryou interrupted firmly, taking over again to speak. He surprised himself with his words.

"He is a thief," Shadi repeated stubbornly. "He was not worthy of the Items five thousand years ago and he is certainly not worthy now."

"Worthy!" Bakura exploded, taking control again. Everyone jumped at the rapid body switching. "You call yourself _worthy_ of the power around your neck?! Did you hide, shaking in the shadows as your family was slaughtered to create that power?! Did you watch as your mother and sisters were thrown into that cauldron, melted down and their very flesh cast into those Ra forsaken Items?! My kin lie in the hands of the people in this room and you dare to ask if I am worthy of that power?! I am more worthy of the Items than anyone in this room and Ra damn anyone who tries to tell me differently!"

He finished his rant, breathing heavily through his bared teeth. Shadi looked completely unfazed by his outburst, as did Dumbledore. The headmaster had sensed that there was a lot of grief and anger that Bakura needed to get off his chest, but the story was still none the less gruesome. Yami and Malik however looked utterly horrified, for they had never heard Bakura say anything about his past.

"If you are finished," Shadi said. "I shall begin the Game. You and your hikari shall participate."

"Bring it on," Bakura snapped. "There is no Shadow Game that I cannot win!"

The room darkened dramatically, shadows slithering around under the chairs and bookcases. Yami and Bakura separated from their hosts.

"That _we_ cannot win," Ryou corrected turning to look at the thief. Bakura was still fuming however, and did not say anything. Yugi was watching Bakura with fearful eyes, and he looked extremely distressed by the story that the thief had just screamed. Dumbledore cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention.

"This game will not harm any of my students will it?" he asked. Shadi shook his head.

"The school is now the setting for the Shadow Game," he said. "The students and everyone in this castle are merely spectators. They may be slightly drained of their energy in the morning but no further harm shall come to them as long as they do not interfere with the game."

Dumbledore did not look happy, even with Shadi's very limited assurances, but Yugi crossed to his side and began to explain a little about how the realm worked. Shadi turned his attention back to Ryou and Bakura.

"Your task is to find and retrieve the Millennium Eye and return back here before the time elapses."

He waved a hand and an hourglass appeared in midair.

"Sounds simple," Ryou said. Next to him, Bakura's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Too simple," he muttered. "What's the catch?"

"There will be obstacles of course," Shadi said. "And you cannot use the Ring to search for it."

Bakura swore loudly.

"Fine then," Ryou said, glancing at the Ring, now around his yami's neck. "We'll get it back and be back…."

"In ten minutes," Shadi said indicating the hourglass.

"What are you, insane?" Malik exploded. "That's barely enough time for them to get back to the dorms!"

Bakura however, just nodded.

"Ten minutes. Let's get on with it."

Shadi nodded. Everyone watched tensely as he gripped the hourglass.

"Game start!"

As the first grains of sand were counted, Bakura shot down the stairs, so fast that he was just a white blur. Ryou blinked at the spot his yami had been standing stupidly.

"That was fast…"

"Come on hikari!" Bakura yelled, and Ryou seemed to snap to his senses.

"Coming!"

He hurried after him. Malik was watching the sand slide through the hourglass; occasionally shooting murderous looks at Shadi. Yami sat down on the floor and Yugi left Dumbledore's side and went to sit beside his dark.

"And now?" Malik asked.

"Now," Yami said firmly. "We wait."

OOO

"Bakura?" Ryou said urgently, scanning the corridor for his other half. He did not have to look far. Bakura was flicking through his deck. Ryou's eyes widened.

"I thought we couldn't use the Ring?"

"He said to trace the Eye," Bakura said. "He never said I could not use it for other things…Diabound!"

The fiend appeared again, and Bakura wasted no time in grabbing its arm. Ryou followed, trying to suppress the chill and dizziness that came from being unprotected in the Shadow Realm. Though he did not notice it, Bakura was watching him critically. He had remembered that Ryou did not do so well in Shadow Games.

Bakura gave Diabound a nod, and the fiend pulled them upwards through the ceiling. As soon as they reached the third floor however there was an explosion and two figures appeared blocking their way. One was a tall dark man in black and white robes, clutching an ancient tomb under his arm. The other wore similar robes, but with green embroidery on the front.

"Duel Monsters!" Ryou gasped. "Gravekeeper's Watcher (1000/1000) and Gravekeeper's Spy (1200/2000)!"

"Shadi's 'obstacles' no doubt," Bakura growled, reaching for his deck again.

"Headless Knight (1450/1700)!" he shouted. Another cloud of shadow gave way to a knight in armour, which clutched his sword in both hands. A chuckle was heard, from where the head should have sat.

"Attack!" Bakura ordered. The knight charged into the two monsters, cutting down Gravekeeper's Watcher instantly. Gravekeeper's Spy attempted to fight back, but the Knight moved quickly, slicing him cleanly in two.

"Next floor," Bakura said, recalling Headless Knight. Diabound leaped for the ceiling once again, pulling both yami and hikari through with him.

Shadi's monsters however seemed to know where they were going to appear, and were already waiting. As Diabound and the two duellists appeared, two more monsters appeared out of the shadows. They were clearly Gravekeepers, both dressed in black cloaks stood before them. The taller was bald, bulky and wore no shirt under his robe. He also carried a long threatening looking staff. The smaller carried a smaller staff, which was curved in a question mark shape at the end.

As soon as Bakura and Ryou were clear of Diabound, the taller Gravekeeper charged at Diabound, slamming its spear into the fiend. Diabound flew backwards, before vanishing in a bolt of light, which streaked back to the card. Bakura growled.

"Gravekeepr's Guard (1000/1900)," he said. "I guess springing out at us like that counts as a flip summon."

As soon as he said it, the second Gravekeeper began to glow a sickly green colour, and Ryou felt pain race across his skin like fire. He doubled over, but kept his balance.

"Ryou!" Bakura sounded alarmed, but Ryou waved him off, glaring at Gravekeeper's Curse (800/800), which had just dealt him the equivalent of five hundred points of direct damage.

"I'm fine," Ryou assured him. "My Ba just took a bit of a knock…"

Bakura gave a snarl and immediately Headless Knight appeared at his side.

"Attack!" Bakura barked, and the knight quickly intercepted a blow from Gravekeepers Guard, slicing him to ribbons. Gravekeepers Curse met the same fate very quickly at the end of the haunted monsters sword.

"Diabound!" Bakura commanded, and the fiend reappeared, looking angered and mildly embarrassed at having been bounced back by Gravekeeper's Guard. Bakura quickly recalled Headless Knight, starting to feel the drain of summoning in the Shadow Realm when he still had a monster roaming around in the real world – namely Souls of the Forgotten.

"C'mon," he ordered his Ka. "Next floor."

The fiend dragged them up, Bakura keeping an eye on Ryou as they went. As soon as they hit the fifth floor however, Ryou suddenly cried out in pain, and Diabound dropped them both in surprise. A figure dressed like the other monsters, but with their face swathed in black – Gravekeeper's Assailant (1500/1500) – melted into view, seeming to come from the wall itself, having just dealt Ryou fifteen hundred points of damage to his Ba.

"Diabound! Destroy it!" Bakura yelled, but as the attack was let loose, the Assailant vanished and another Gravekeeper appeared, this one armed with a huge cannon over its shoulder. Gravekeeper's Assailant turned into a mass of dark energy, which flooded into the cannon. The monster – which Bakura recognised as Gravekeeper's Cannonholder (1400/1200), fired off a blast of energy from its weapon into the thief, who fell to his knees as he lost seven hundred points.

"Bakura…" Ryou's voice was choked. "Are you okay?"

"Mmm fine," Bakura growled out as Diabound obliterated the Cannonholder. Both yami and hikari were immediately scooped up and taken up to the next floor.

This was where things started to get out of hand, as three Gravekeepers appeared. Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier (1500/1000) brandished its weapon at them threateningly, while Gravekeeper's Commandant (1600/1500), a man in fancy robes with a headdress to represent Anubis, the God of the Dead, gave them a harsh glare. The final monster, lording over the other two, was Gravekeeper's Chief (1900/1200) who wore white and black robes and carried a cobra head shaped staff.

"Oh brilliant…" Bakura groaned, knowing that at least one of these monsters could take out Diabound. Ryou however, who was tired of sitting around and taking damage, concentrated hard, praying that this would work, and as Gravekeeper's Chief launched an attack on Diabound, Change of Heart appeared out of nowhere and Gravekeeper's Commandant suddenly leaped in front of the Chief and exploded into nothingness.

"Nice one Ryou!" Bakura said approvingly. In truth he was stunned that Ryou had mustered the strength to call his favourite card in battle. Gravekeeper's Chief looked very angered by this move.

"Dark Necrofear!" Bakura called, and the blue skinned fiend appeared. She cradled her doll, and without another word, blasted Gravekeeper's Chief into atoms. Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier looked worried at this point as it realised it was staring down two monsters that were both more powerful than it. The fear came true as Diabound raised its hands and without another word, vaporised the monster.

"Up!" Bakura barked again, and Diabound scooped Bakura, Ryou, and surprisingly, Dark Necrofear up and carried them up.

"Almost there," Ryou said, the toll of the game catching up with him again. "The tower is at the other end of this corridor…"

No sooner had the words left his mouth, than Diabound emerged onto the seventh floor…that was barred by two huge monsters.

"By the Gods…" Bakura muttered. "Trust the Ra damned Guardian…"

"Sengenjin (2750/2500)…" Ryou reported, staring at the hulking blue skinned beast, which carried several golden weapons over its back. His gaze turned to the second monster, a golem comprised of slabs of dark stone, with the Eye of Horus on what appeared to be its face. "And Millennium Golem (2000/2200)."

There was not a whole lot they could do, Bakura knew. Against Millennium Golem, Dark Necrofear would be more than enough. However Sengenjin was another matter…

"Master," Dark Necrofear rasped, causing both Ryou and Bakura to jump. "Complete your task. We shall hold them off."

"But…" Ryou knew that there was no way they'd be able to hold Sengenjin off, but as the Millennium Golem launched itself at Diabound, who was suddenly doubled thanks to a quick activation of Spirit Illusion from Bakura, Ryou knew that they would have to risk it.

"Go!" Dark Necrofear urged, as she turned to blast the Millennium Golem, not paying attention to the other monster, who lumbered toward her with its golden axe raised.

"Dark Master – Zorc!" Bakura roared, and the zombie monster appeared, intercepting Sengenjin. Bakura grabbed Ryou's hand and dragged him off down the corridor. "Come on!"

The Fat Lady looked alarmed as both boys skidded to a halt in front of her. Ryou clutched his head, bitterly wishing that his resistance in Shadow Games was that of Bakura or even Yugi. The thief himself, glared at the monsters fighting hand to hand with his own.

"What on Earth is going on?" the portrait demanded.

"Little Kuriboh!" Bakura shouted, wincing as Diabound took a particularly nasty hit. Usually it would not have fazed him, but the fact that he was in the Shadow Realm, sustaining energy for three monsters, plus Souls of the Forgotten in the real world, was draining him of strength.

"This is utter madness!" the Fat Lady cried out, as the Millennium Golem finally hit the ground with an audible crash. "And why are there two of you all of a sudden?"

"Just open!" Ryou screamed in desperation. The Fat Lady jumped in alarm before swinging open. Ryou was shoved in by Bakura, who cast his monsters a quick look, before assuring himself that they were fine and allowing the portrait to close. He took a quick sweep of the Common Room for any hostile threats and groaned aloud as his gaze fell on the chairs by the fire.

"Can't we even play a Shadow Game without you three nosing in?"

Ryou looked weakly at the sofa in front of the fire. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat there, all looking rather alarmed at the sight of both yami and hikari in the flesh (or soul more accurately). Bakura rolled his eyes.

"What the hell is going on?" Harry asked. "You bolt out of the dorm during the middle of the night, and now you come in here looking like you've been through hell itself. Why can we see both of you?"

"We don't have time to explain," Ryou said, pulling himself slowly off the floor.

"What happened to you?" Hermione asked, getting to her feet in alarm. Bakura's eyes flashed and he moved to stand by Ryou, the challenge in his eyes daring her to come any closer. If they tried to help they would become part of the Shadow Game too.

"We'll tell you later," Ryou promised, as Hermione shot a fearful look at the protective looking thief. "We need the Millennium Eye."

Whatever the three had been expecting, it was clearly not this. There was silence for a moment, before Bakura lost patience.

"Stop staring already and tell us where it is. We're on a tight schedule!"

"Why do you want it?" Harry eventually asked.

"None of your concern!" Bakura snapped. "Now are you going to tell us where it is or do I have to tear the tower apart with my monsters?"

"How did you even know we took it?" Ron asked. "We've been trying to give it back all week but you haven't been…"

He was interrupted by a frantic beep from Ryou's watch. The hikari checked it and paled.

"We've got four minutes left," he said.

"This is stupid," Bakura muttered, picking up the Ring again.

"What are you doing?" Ryou asked fearfully.

"I'm going to find the Eye," Bakura said. "Ring, fi…"

"You can't!" Ryou interrupted in a terrified voice. "Shadi said…"

"Screw Shadi!" Bakura raged. "If they won't tell us I'll find it myself! Ring…"

Ryou's hands seized Bakura's in a surprisingly strong grip.

"I can't let you Bakura. We can find it without the Ring. We've still got time…"

"Don't tell me how to win a Shadow Game Ryou!" Bakura snarled angrily.

"Shadi will know you cheated!" Ryou pleaded desperately. "You know as well as I do that the Shadows punish cheaters just as harshly as losers!"

"Let me go Ryou!" the thief snapped, wrenching his wrist free. "Ring, show me the Millennium Eye!"

"Please Yami don't!"

FLASHBACK

"_Please Kura, don't go!"_

"_Mother might still be down there. I'm going to get her out before they find her!"_

"_They'll catch you too! They'll kill you or sell you or do whatever it is they've come here to do to us! I don't want to lose you! Please big brother!"_

END FLASHBACK

The Millennium Ring fell lifeless against his chest. Bakura stared off into the distance, his eyes blank as he was lost in a whirlwind of flashbacks and memories. Ryou's thought cut through them all.

/_Please Bakura. I don't want to be alone again_/

It sounded weak, it sounded desperate and pathetic, but it did the trick. Bakura's arms dropped back to his side and he looked at his hikari. Just like last time he was risking leaving someone alone when they needed him the most. Ryou needed him, just as his sister had needed him all those years ago in Egypt. He had become the kind of person who would abandon those that relied on him. What would his Akila think?

"Bakura?" Ryou asked, alarmed at his yami's sudden stillness and his silence over the mind link. "Bakura?" He swallowed before nervously whispering, "Other me?"

Bakura seemed to come back to himself. Ryou was not his sister. He was more than twice her age and he would never be as close with him as he had been to her. But they had the same gentle soul, the kind that was rare in people. That soul was under his protection. He had previously believed that caring enough to protect someone made him weak, and he would only get hurt again if he failed.

"Did I have it wrong all these years ago?" he said aloud. Ryou shook his head, having pried the link open enough to understand what his yami was thinking of. For the first time, he was allowed a glimpse of what his dark's childhood had been like.

"I'm sorry Yami," he said shakily. "I did not know how bad it was…you were right. You're the only one who deserves the Items for the pain they've caused you."

Bakura shook his head. "I don't deserve the Eye. I did not deserve her. And I don't deserve you Ryou. All that I've put you through, you and your friends, none of it. But…was it so wrong of me to want to avenge them?"

Ryou understood now. The Shadow Game was revealing the truth about Bakura's soul. Not just the dark side that wanted to hunt down what was his and destroy everything in his path, but also the side of the little boy that had lost his family and wanted to see them avenged. Ryou could see it running through his yami's mind. All the images, thoughts and feelings that were forever burned into Bakura's memory when his village was slaughtered, were now fed to him in sickening detail.

"No," Ryou shook his head. "It wasn't wrong Bakura. I…I understand why you did it."

"After everything I've done to you," Bakura asked, a disbelieving note in his voice. "After all the people I've hurt to gain the Items, how can you say you understand it?"

"I didn't say I approved," Ryou sighed. "Understanding doesn't mean agreeing with you. You wanted revenge for losing everything. That is not wrong. It's…its human."

Bakura blinked. He had never in five thousand years been called human before. Insane, psychotic and sadistic yes, but this was the first time he had ever been called anything remotely close to normalcy. And by Ryou no less, the person he had hurt the most in his quest for power.

"It will never stop hurting," he said. Ryou nodded.

"I know," he said. "I know it doesn't. But it's like Hagrid said. It means we don't forget them. It means we're still human. We…we are the same Yami."

The silence following this profound statement lasted for all of ten seconds, before a cough from the fireplace bought everyone's attention back. Ryou and Bakura had temporarily forgotten that they were not alone. Harry exchanged looks with Ron and Hermione before nodding to the red head. Ron looked less than happy, but he pulled out a small wad of cloth and handed it over to his friend. Harry stepped forwards, pulling the handkerchief away to reveal the small golden ball with the Eye of Horus etched into the front.

"If it's the Eye you want, then go ahead. It's yours anyway, we just wanted to look at it…"

/_It is ours_/ Bakura said slowly, his mind seeming to be slowly coming back to the present situation. /_And soon Shadi will know it. We will prove it!_/

Ryou could not help but smile slightly. There was Bakura's fighting spirit, back in the game!

"We still want a few things answered when you get back," Ron warned. Ryou nodded.

"We can tell you some things…"

"Not everything," Bakura warned, sharply. "People die for this secret. If we tell you too much…"

"We get it," Hermione assured him. "Don't worry. A few answers are all we've ever asked for."

Ryou looked down at the ground. "We've kept you in the dark for months…"

"Enough!" Bakura snapped suddenly, taking the Millennium Eye from Harry's outstretched hand and stuffing it into his pocket. "We'll do the apologising thing later! Right now we have a Shadow Game that we're going to lose in two minutes and six seconds if we do not get moving!"

Ryou seemed to shake himself out of the numb stupor that he had been in for the past few minutes, and followed his yami to the Fat Lady's portrait.

"We'll see you in a bit," he promised.

OOO

"Thirty seconds," Shadi said, his pupil-less eyes fixed on the last remaining grains of sand trickling through the hourglass. Yami twitched in annoyance, and next to him, Yugi rolled his eyes.

"Must you count down each minute?" Malik snapped at the Guardian. "As if we weren't nervous enough!"

Shadi did not look at the disgruntled teenager. Malik huffed and spun the Rod in his hands, occasionally unsheathing and re-sheathing the dagger. Yugi chewed his lip nervously, while Yami tapped his foot a little impatiently. Dumbledore just sat behind the desk, tense and looking a little pale from the drain of the shadows. There was also a flicker of anger in his eyes, directed mostly at Shadi for putting the students of the castle in a situation that could be potentially dangerous.

Then, from the ceiling the white snake tail descended, followed by the torso and head of Diabound. Clutched in both his arms were Bakura and Ryou, looking worn and a little tired, but otherwise cheerful. Upon their arrival, Ryou's watch beeped.

"Made it!" he said happily, as Diabound let them both go.

"Time is up," Shadi stated obviously. "Do you have the Item?"

Bakura smirked as he held out the Eye. "You mean this one?"

Everyone, save for Shadi, sighed in relief.

"I knew you guys could do it!" Yugi said happily. Ryou smiled weakly, but Bakura's eyes had not left the Guardian. Shadi stared at the Eye for a very long time, as though determined to reject the fact that such an object would be owned by a mere thief. Finally however, he merely nodded.

"As a Guardian of the Items, I am bound by their power, and also their will. The Eye is yours."

He spoke in an extremely bitter tone. Ryou looked relieved, and Bakura's smirk grew even wider, even as the shadows drifted away and Dumbledore's office was returned to its normal state. Bakura and Yami disappeared back to the Items. Ryou quickly slipped the Eye into his pocket.

"You don't sound too thrilled," he observed. Shadi scowled.

"He does not deserve it," he said bluntly.

"Yes he does," Ryou retorted softly to everyone's amazement. "He's more deserving than you."

For the first time that evening, the slightest flicker of emotion passed over Shadi's face. He appeared angry. Angry that Ryou should dare challenge him. But the teenager just glared right back, a look of certainty on his face.

"And you know it Shadi," he said. "Because you know the blood that was spilled for these Items."

Shadi seemed to bristle, before magic swirled beneath his feet and he sank out of sight through the floor. Ryou released the breath he did not realise he had been holding.

"Are you alright Ryou?" Yugi asked, approaching his friend. The albino smiled.

"I am," he nodded, hearing his yami settle down to rest in his soul room. "In fact, I feel great right now."

/_You told him hikari_/ Bakura said smugly.

"You just talked down to Shadi!" Malik beamed. "My hero!"

He paused looking thoughtful.

"Playing a Shadow Game in your pyjamas. I'll have to try that sometime. It looks like fun!"

"If I may," Dumbledore cut in swiftly and everyone jumped, completely forgetting that the Headmaster was standing there. Yugi gasped.

"Oh, we're sorry you had to see that Professor!"

Dumbledore held up his hand and Yugi's rush of apologies ceased abruptly.

"I know it was not your fault, any of you. However I shall reiterate what I said to the Pharaoh earlier today. I cannot tolerate having my students put in danger, therefore I must ask you all not to play Shadow Games in the school."

"We promise," Yugi assured him. "We would never intentionally put anyone in danger."

Malik resisted the urge to comment about Malfoy. Dumbledore nodded.

"I must also enquire," he said. "Shadi's Item possessed a startling ability…"

The three exchanged fearful looks. The headmasters piercing blue eyes swept over them.

"I gather from your expressions that this was not a surprise to you. The Millennium Items have more power than you have told me, is this not correct?"

"That is enough," Bakura interrupted, taking control and glaring at Dumbledore. "That information is far too dangerous to give out. You already know too much."

Yami appeared in Yugi's place, hissing at the thief's rudeness. Malik gripped the Millennium Rod.

"I do not wish to pry," the headmaster tried to assure him. "I am merely concerned for the safety of those in the school…"

"And how safe will they be once others come breaking into the school to steal the Items for their own use?" Bakura asked, his voice dangerously low. "People kill for this power Professor. Are you prepared to handle that?"

Dumbledore gave him a frank look. "It would not be the first time Bakura that someone has tried to forcibly enter Hogwarts with reasons of ill intent. I do my utmost to protect everyone here. If the Items have power that could draw enemies to seek it then I wish to know."

"Do not feed me that!" Bakura snapped. "You would limit it, just as you would limit us from playing Shadow Games. How can we defend ourselves if you forbid us from using our magic?"

"Bakura!" Yami said reproachfully. "That is not what he wants to do!"

Malik shot him a glare, warning the Pharaoh not to get Bakura's temper up any further. Dumbledore sighed, clearly exhausted by the events of the day and the current argument.

"I am not trying to limit you in any way, I am trying to help."

But Bakura had retreated already, leaving Ryou in his place. The brown eyes were dazed and tired.

"I'm sorry Professor, but I don't think it's a good idea either," he said, before turning and heading for the door. Malik took off immediately behind him, leaving an exasperated looking Yami behind. Dumbledore, resigned that he would not get any answers, sat back down behind his desk.

"I apologise for prying," he said. Yami did not move. He was too busy conversing with Yugi.

/_We can't tell him can we?_/ Yugi asked sadly. Yami sighed and shook his head mentally. He knew Yugi felt very bad not being totally honest with people, especially Dumbledore. Yami felt the same way. The headmaster had done a lot for them. He had arranged for them to come to the school, catch up on all that they had missed, even accepted the fact that two of them had magical alter egos. But he knew that the Items were not a secret to be told to just anyone.

/_No we can't Yugi. I wish we could. But it is not a good idea. We do not want to put him or anyone else in danger_/

"Don't worry about Bakura Professor," Yami said. "I wish we could tell you, but it's far too dangerous. The Items have their own destiny to fulfil and it is not a destiny we want to drag you into."

"I do not wish to limit your powers," Dumbledore said. "Or to take them from you. I realised a long time ago that I was not to be trusted with power. But I must request that whatever other powers the Items may have that you do not release them upon the students."

Yami frowned a little at the fact that the headmaster did not trust them not to harm the students, but then again, he could hardly be blamed. He had only met Yami and Bakura for the first proper time less than twelve hours ago. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"You bought us into your school on trust," Yami said. "And on trust we shall remain here. You have my word that we will not harm anyone in this school. We will do as you requested of us and protect them…with our souls if needs be."

As Yami left, Dumbledore realised that the Pharaoh had not only just reminded him of their agreement at the beginning of term, but had also reminded the headmaster just how much the transfers were putting on the line for him and his school.

OOO

"You promised them _what_?!" Malik burst out, shattering the silence of the corridor. Some of the portraits yelled complaints as they were shaken from their slumber, and the Fat Lady scowled at the rule breaking students. Ryou stood there looking sheepish.

"You have to admit Malik we do owe them a few answers. Especially after last week…"

"Weren't you the one who said five minutes ago in Dumbledore's office that the information about the Items was too dangerous to give out?" Malik demanded. "Now you want to spill them to even more people?"

"We don't need to tell them everything," Ryou retorted. "I know we can't tell them everything. I just think we should explain that Yami and Bakura don't mean any harm. We don't need to tell them about their pasts or the powers of the Items or anything like that."

"I don't like it either," Yugi said slowly. "But I would like it if they could start talking to us again. The last week has been hell trying to act as a bridge between you lot."

At this Ryou looked a little depressed.

"That's another thing. You've forgiven them pretty quickly," Malik said folding his arms and looking at his friend critically. "Considering they looked through your letters and stole the Eye…"

"I haven't forgiven them completely," Ryou said. "It's just…something Hagrid said today, really made sense to me. I want to at least try and talk to them again. It hasn't exactly been a picnic trying to avoid them."

Truthfully, Hagrid's words had done more than make him reconsider the argument between the other Gryffindors. They had served to give Ryou a little more insight into his yami's past. If Bakura, who had more reason to hate the world than he did, could start to become more tolerant of people, then he should not be pushing his friends away for one mistake.

/_What do you think Bakura?_/ he asked.

/_I'm not that happy_/ the thief admitted. /_I'd rather no one knew to be honest. But if they're going to make life difficult for you then I suppose you might as well. Just as long as you don't tell them too much_/

/_I promise_/

/_And…hikari…about Kul Elna…_/

/_Not a word Bakura_/ Ryou said firmly. /_That's your story to tell when you're ready to tell it_/

/…_Thanks_/

While Ryou conversed with Bakura, Yugi was doing the same with Yami. Malik, knowing what they were doing, just stood there with his arms folded, wondering what it was like to have another voice in your head to talk with. His yami had never spoken directly too him, though now he thought about it Malik did remember moments when he had felt his mind being influenced, particularly when plotting to take the Pharaoh's power. He guessed that Marik had been nudging him subconsciously.

The first time he had actually spoken to his dark had been just before the Shadow Game with Ryou and Bakura, when they had confronted Marik in Odion's room. He wondered what the first thing Yugi and Ryou had said to their yami's had been. Certainly not "I want my body back!" Well…maybe with Ryou and Bakura but definitely not with Yugi and Yami.

"Yami doesn't mind," Yugi interrupted the silence. "Just so long as we don't tell them much."

"Bakura feels the same," Ryou said. Malik scowled, realising he was outnumbered.

"Oh all right!" he said. "But not much. Nothing about the powers of the Items."

They turned to face the Fat Lady, who was looking down at them with folded arms and a scowl on her face.

"Oh so you finally decide to come in?" she asked tartly.

"Little Kuriboh," Yugi said politely.

"So what exactly was that I saw you and your doppelganger doing earlier this evening?" the portrait asked Ryou, an eyebrow raised.

"Did we stutter or something?" Malik snapped. "Let us in!"

"Please," Ryou added, in an effort to redeem themselves. But the Fat Lady just looked affronted before swinging open.

"You could have been a bit nicer," Yugi pointed out. "She was probably sleeping until we came along."

"I reserve the right to be as rude as I want," Malik proclaimed as he clambered through the portrait hole. "Besides, I'm tired too."

"You didn't even do anything," Ryou said indignantly, scanning the Common Room. Sure enough, Harry, Ron and Hermione were still seated by the fire. Harry was the first to look up, and immediately shook the half dozing Ron by the shoulders. Hermione was on her feet instantly.

"Are you all okay?"

"Fine," Yugi assured them. "A little tired, but otherwise fine."

"Where's Bakura?" Ron asked, looking around as though expecting the thief to pop up from behind a chair.

"Resting," Ryou said. "Summoning our monsters tired us both out."

There was a very awkward silence, until finally Malik spoke up.

"Well…no use beating about the bush," he muttered. "You three want answers. We'll give you a few. But if we can't answer something, it's for your own good. Understand?"

The three of them nodded, and the Item bearers exchanged looks before sitting down opposite them.

"What do you want to know?" Yugi asked. Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other. Now they were there, it was hard to know where to begin. It was Hermione who spoke up first though.

"First we owe you an apology," she said. "It was wrong of us to ever mistrust you, and we shouldn't have gone prying, particularly through your letters Ryou. And we shouldn't have taken the Millennium Eye. We're all really sorry."

They all looked sombrely at their knees, awaiting their friend's judgment. Yugi and Malik watched Ryou. After all, he was the one they had hurt the most, and it was his place to forgive them or not.

"Apology accepted," Ryou said. "But…you'll forgive me if I don't trust you immediately. And Bakura says don't be surprised if your money starts to go missing. Don't worry," he added, seeing the alarmed looks on their faces. "I'll make sure he returns it."

"That's another thing," Ron said suddenly. "About earlier today…"

"What happened earlier today?" Yugi asked curiously. Ryou shifted uncomfortably.

"He was just angry Ron. You…you really hurt me."

"Still no excuse for blasting me across the room," Ron grumbled. "That hurt too you know!"

"That's just what he does," Ryou said. "You just need to learn to accept that."

"You want us to accept that the spirit of a thief usurps your body and makes you hurt people?" Harry asked.

"For the last effing time!" Bakura exploded, taking control abruptly. "I do not usurp Ryou's body!"

His expression softened and Ryou appeared again.

"I let him have control," Ryou explained. "And I can take over again whenever I want."

"It's the same with me," Yugi said. "Yami and Bakura aren't hurting us. They're our friends."

He almost hesitated at the last word. After all, until recently, Bakura had been hell bent on killing them all. But Yugi had seen the change in attitudes in both Ryou and Bakura, and he knew they had a far more stable relationship than they had in the past.

It was Hermione who spoke next.

"How do they do it?" she asked. Yugi took a deep breath and answered.

"Yami and Bakura were both sealed into two of the Millennium Items five thousand years ago. When I completed the Puzzle, and when Ryou put the Ring on for the first time, our souls fused together. We're not whole without each other."

"But…who are they?" Hermione asked. "I mean, we know your spirit is a Pharaoh and we know yours is a thief, but who exactly…"

"We don't know," Yugi said instantly. "They had their memories wiped when they were sealed."

It was the truth, but not the complete one. Yugi was not going to tell them what little they had learned some of Yami's past in the last couple of years, nor was Ryou going to tell everyone that Bakura had regained most of his memories. It was clear from the tone of Yugi's voice however that the subject was closed, so Harry thought of something else to ask.

"That…Ring," he gestured to Ryou's item. "It can do things to people's souls can't it?"

Ryou gulped. He had really hoped that they would not have to explain the Item's individual powers. Not only because they were dangerous, but because he knew the laws regarding unforgivable curses, and he didn't want to think what would happen to Malik if anyone discovered that his Item's power was exactly the same as the Imperius Curse. He glanced at Yugi for help, but Malik jumped in first.

"You don't need to know the individual powers of the Items," the Egyptian said. "They're too complex to explain."

"But the Ring can do just what Dementors do," Hermione protested. Ryou looked hurt.

"Do you honestly think I'd do that to someone?" he asked. "Do you think I'd willingly let Bakura do it?"

"Remember," Yugi said, seeing that Ryou was getting worked up, and wanting too drop the question completely. "For your own good, we can't tell you some things."

"Doesn't sound like you're telling us much anyway," Ron pointed out.

"The Item's are dangerous," Yugi said. "But not because of their powers, or because of our yami's. It's because people want them for themselves. If we tell you about them, we'll put you in danger too."

Ron snorted. "D'you think we're not in danger already? Hermione's a muggleborn, my family are a bunch of Blood Traitors, and Harry's top of Voldemort's most wanted list. We were in danger before we met you."

Yugi was about to explain just how much worse it was now, but Malik kicked him in the ankle. This was not for them to know. He knew just as well as Yugi did that the Shadows had a way of manipulating people who knew about them. Just look at Yugi's friends. None of them owned an Item, but they had all been pulled into danger. Heck several of them had played Shadow Games of their own. They couldn't tell Harry, Ron or Hermione anything about the Shadow Realm. They could explain about the Orichalcos because it was relevant to Voldemort. But the Shadows were their issue, and they did not want anyone else dragged into it.

"Malik. You've got an Item," Harry said, deciding to continue with the line of questioning. "Do you have a spirit like theirs?"

Yugi and Ryou winced as the question was asked, and Malik stiffened up, his eyes going cold.

"Not any more," he said darkly, and once again, Harry, Ron and Hermione knew not to push. There was plenty about Malik, that they knew they did not want to know, and they suspected that this was one of those things.

"Bringing your Duel Monsters to life," Ron finally asked. "Is that something else that the Items let you do?"

Yugi nodded. This was a relatively harmless topic. "Duel Monsters live in a world parallel to ours. The Items let us call them into our world."

"So they're real?" Ron asked in awe.

"Of course," Malik said, obviously.

"But…" Hermione said, shaking her head, struggling to get her brain around this fact. "The game is a muggle invention. It can't just be a coincidence that someone created a game based on monsters living in another realm. They must have known somehow. But how could they have access to magic that allowed them to see creatures of another realm?"

Yugi, Ryou and Malik all exchanged looks again.

"We can't tell you how," Ryou said. "But rest assured that the person who created the game of Duel Monsters was no ordinary muggle."

If Pegasus could even be considered one…

"Who owns the other Items then?" Ron asked. "We know there are seven."

"How did you find that out?" Yugi asked. "No one else knows about the Items."

"Well…" Harry said. "Remember those notes you were passing in our first Defence Against the Dark Arts class after Christmas?"

"You didn't," Malik said in disbelief.

"Well what would you have done?" Ron asked defensively. "Hermione translated them and found a book in the library. Not much, but we had enough to piece it together."

"Can I see this book?" Malik asked immediately.

"Sure but why?" Harry asked. "I thought you knew everything about the Items?"

"One," Malik said irritably. "I don't think it's possible to know everything about the power of the Items. They were created five thousand years ago and most information about them has been lost. Two, I don't want it to look something up. Can I please see it?"

Hermione made to get up, but Harry beat her to it, raising his wand and muttering, "accio Ancient Games book". The thick leather bound book shot down the stairs and landed at his feet. Malik scooped it swiftly off the floor.

"In answer to your question," Yugi said, turning his attention back to everyone as Malik began flicking through pages. "Malik owns one Item, Ryou and I have two each, and the other two are owned by a man called Shadi."

"Pain in the ass," Malik muttered mutinously at the Guardian's name.

"Didn't you say something about him when you came in earlier?" Hermione asked looking at Ryou.

"He was here," he nodded. "He sensed that you had taken the Eye, so he came to get it back. Don't worry!" he added, seeing all three of them look terrified. "He's gone now, and the Eye is back with me and Bakura…Malik what are you doing?!"

For the Tomb Keeper had pulled out the Millennium Rod, unsheathed the dagger and was selecting a page carefully. He placed the blade to the parchment and began tearing it out of the book. Hermione looked horrified.

"Malik! That's a library book! Madam Pince will kill me!"

"Yes and this information could kill too," Malik replied, taking the page out and starting on the next.

"Don't you think you're being a little extreme?" Ryou asked. Malik glared furiously at him.

"Look Ryou. All the information regarding the Items was supposed to be in the care of the Tomb Keepers. If someone could find enough to put it in a book of ancient games then it means we missed something, or someone in my clan was not only going topside without permission, but they were blabbing details for a little extra money."

"This book was published twenty years ago," Yugi pointed out, noting the date on the inside cover. "That's before you were even born Malik. I think the money will be long gone."

"You don't get it do you?" Malik asked impatiently, folding up the pages of the spellbook and tucking them into his dressing gown. "If they told someone for money, what's to stop this person telling Voldemort everything he knows now?"

There was more to it than that. As the last remaining male of the Ishtar line, the Tomb Keepers were Malik's responsibility. Though all of them were living in the light, the information was still in the care of Malik's family, and anything related to it fell on their shoulders. Malik understood the dangers that much of the information on the Items and the Shadow Games held, and considered it the duty of the keepers to keep that information secret. The idea that someone had been spilling the secrets to random wizards horrified him, and made him determined to sort it out. This was one duty to the Tomb Keepers that he was firm about keeping.

Yugi and Ryou on the other hand looked horrified. Clearly the idea that someone could get the information about the Items to Voldemort had not occurred to them.

"You're right," Ryou said. "I'm sorry. I hadn't thought of that. Are you going to tell Ishizu?"

"She's the only one who's in a position do anything about it," Malik said, now taking a piece of parchment from his pocket and the biro that Yugi offered in order to scrawl a message to his sister. "She's got the ability to contact nearly all the Tomb Keepers. We can find out who it was."

"Erm…" Harry said. "Not to interrupt, but who are the Tomb Keepers?"

"You don't want to know," Malik said bluntly, shutting the book with a thump. "Here's your book back."

"Yami thinks he should try using the Necklace again," Yugi interjected. "It might help finding this person if Ishizu can't. You can borrow Taiyo if you want to mail her…"

"Thanks Yugi," Malik said. "But I was going to send it another way. I don't trust owls not being intercepted."

He got quickly to his feet and fished out his deck and the Millennium Rod.

"Sorry guys," Yugi apologised. "We'll get back to questions in a second. This is important…"

"Vampire Lord!" Malik called, the Millennium Rod and the Duel Monsters card glowing. Before the Egyptian stood a tall man with blue hair and pointed teeth. He wore a purple suit and a black cape. Harry, Ron and Hermione jumped in alarm, particularly when they saw the fangs.

"You sent for me master?" he asked, making a low sweeping bow.

"I did," Malik said, handing the parchment over. "Take this to my sister."

The zombie monster's face fell. Malik gave him a look.

"I know you're not an owl, but I don't want anyone to intercept this, and I'd only trust one of you guys with it. Someone in the clan could have been spilling information."

At this, Vampire Lord looked angered.

"For shame! I shall not fail you master."

And in a swirl of shadow he was gone, leaving a few confused and startled bats in his wake. They vanished after him.

"Poor guy," Malik said. "First time I call him outside of battle and he's playing post boy."

"Was that…a vampire?" Ron asked, his voice taking on a slightly high-pitched tone.

"That was a Duel Monsters," Ryou corrected. Yugi looked excited as Malik sat back down.

"Wow Malik, when did you get Vampire Lord? He was never in your deck before!"

Malik grinned for the first time that evening. "He's been in my deck since Christmas, you just haven't seen him. He was my birthday present from Ishizu. You know vampires, they're immortal. His effect means if he's destroyed by card effect he comes back in my next turn. Works well with my deck theme."

"Was there anything else you wanted to know?" Ryou asked. Ron shook his head. Hermione however piped up.

"We were there when Malfoy got put in a coma," she said. "What was that giant purple barrier that stopped us getting to you?"

The three transfers gulped.

"Oh, you saw that…" Yugi said slowly.

"Bit hard to miss really," Ron pointed out.

"Hey I didn't see you when I arrived," Malik pointed out frowning.

"We were under my invisibility cloak," Harry explained.

"You have an invisibility cloak?" Ryou asked in surprise.

"Yes," Harry said, shortly. "What was the shield exactly?"

"Erm…" Yugi trailed off, looking at his friends, feeling that this topic was straying too far onto the list of things they should not be telling. "You sort of stumbled on a game…"

"A Shadow Game!" Hermione squeaked in fear. The transfers groaned.

"How did you know?" Malik asked. "Wait, don't answer. There was a passage in the book. I remember now. The chapter was on the Shadow Games."

"You were playing a Shadow Game with Malfoy?" Hermione asked, staring at Yugi in horror. "They're supposed to be really really dangerous! How could you do that?!"

"It wasn't me," Yugi defended. "Yami got a bit upset when he attacked us and…well things got a bit out of hand. He'll be fine if he can beat the Penalty Game!"

"Your spirits did that to him!" Ron asked, his face going white. "This is mental!"

"Will you pipe down and listen?!" Malik snapped. "Malfoy attacked these two first and they retaliated. It was that simple. Besides, his father is a Death Eater and Malfoy overheard him talking about us. He was threatening to tell everyone. Hopefully if he comes out of the Penalty Game he will think twice about that."

"If he survives," Harry muttered.

"Why do you care?" Malik asked. "I thought you all hated him?"

"We do," Ron said. "But there is a limit to how much punishment someone can have."

"Anything else?" Yugi asked, stifling a yawn. He wanted nothing more than to climb into bed and sleep the next day away.

"Just one thing," Harry said, sounding a little apprehensive. "The two spirits. Are you truly alright with them taking over?"

"Of course we are," Ryou frowned. "Didn't we just get through explaining this?"

"Doesn't it scare you though?" Harry pressed. "Being possessed by them I mean?"

Ron and Hermione exchanged looks. They knew that Harry had his own issues with possession. He had told them what had happened to him in the Atrium of the Ministry the previous summer. His own experiences with having another person inside your head had not been pleasant, and he had more reason to be weary of it than anyone did.

"It's not like that," Yugi said, shaking his head. "I know that Yami would not hurt me. He's been protecting me, even before I knew he was there. And when we could communicate with each other I promised I'd help him in any way I could. Yami's been like the brother I never had. He helps me and I help him. It's a partnership."

A second's silence followed the profound statement. In his soul room, Yami was smiling, deeply touched at the depth of Yugi's heart. He too thought of Yugi in the same way, no longer just as someone who just needed protecting, but someone he learned from and someone he cared for.

He knew that Yugi was simplifying their relationship for the sake of Harry, Ron and Hermione's understanding, for the truth was that brother couldn't even begin to explain their bond. It was stronger than siblings, and a lot more than just a powerful friendship. It was too difficult to explain exactly what they were to each other. They just, were. Yami's nickname for Yugi, _Aibou _was more descriptive than brother or friend. The Japanese sentiment roughly translated to 'partner', stronger than friendship, and closer to soul mate than anything. But even that didn't cover the full complexity.

As Yami had said to Dumbledore earlier, Yugi was the light that balanced him, just as he was the dark that balanced Yugi. Their relationship was a twisted woven pattern of light and dark, so intricate that it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. Yami knew of the gifts that having Yugi by his side gave him, and he was a far better person that he had been when he had first been released from the Puzzle. He hoped that he had had been more like this when he was Pharaoh.

"What about you Ryou?" Harry asked. "Aren't you scared? I remember your boggart at the DA meeting. The thief is your worst fear."

Ryou bit his lip unsure for a minute how to answer. Yes he had been scared originally, more so when he realised his yami's intentions. But lately…He had never really told anyone about the developing relationship between he and his other self. It had been something they discussed together, and at the same time, it felt like something only he could understand. He really did not know how to put it in a way everyone would understand.

"He's not like that any more guys," he said eventually. "Bakura is…he's the way he is for a reason. Everything that's happened before the Ring came back to me after Battle City…I know what he did was wrong. But since then, I've been learning more about him and…I understand him now. We understand each other."

"How? You're nothing like each other," Malik said.

"Neither were Yami and Yugi when the Puzzle was reassembled," Ryou pointed out, looking at Yugi for backup. "But hikari's do what their name suggests. They give the darkness light. I think Bakura called it balancing. We learn from each other."

"It's true," Yugi said. "When Yami was first released from the Puzzle he…well he was a little…wild. But he calmed down."

"From the sounds of it he still has his wild moments," Hermione pointed out, reminding everyone without saying that as far as they knew Malfoy was still unconscious in the hospital wing.

"Would it help if you met them?" Yugi asked. "Properly I mean." Everyone else was taken aback.

"How can we do that?" Ron asked. "I thought only you guys could see them? But then how did we see Ryou's spirit earlier?"

"You saw me," Bakura said, as Ryou gave control over, "because we were in the middle of a Shadow Game and only spirits were present at the time."

Harry, Ron and Hermione jumped as they realised that Bakura was sitting in Ryou's place. A second later, Yugi was gone and Yami sat there instead.

"Let's make this quick," Bakura said irritably. "I'm tired."

"I'm not surprised," Yami remarked. "You've been playing a Shadow Game."

"Are you two…" Hermione trailed off looking between them both. "Are you the Pharaoh and the Thief?"

"We are," Yami nodded.

Unsurprisingly the first question on Harry's mind had been "would you ever hurt our friends?" But for some reason it wound up coming out as a completely different question.

"But what are your real names?"

"He is Bakura," Yami said, nodding at the tired and drawn looking thief. "I am known as Yami."

Bakura snorted. "You don't remember your name Pharaoh."

Yami scowled. "It's not a laughing matter Tomb Robber."

"It is to me," Bakura assured him.

/_Bakura, behave please_/ Ryou begged.

"Have you really lost all your memories?" Hermione asked, her voice taking on the slightest tinge of sympathy. Yami nodded sadly, while Bakura just folded his arms, and did not reply.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Harry asked.

"You had no problems when you thought we and our hikaris were one and the same," Yami pointed out. "Why should now be any different?"

"Now it's…" Harry trailed off. He really did not know how it was different. But to him, being possessed meant nothing good. Yami seemed to pick up on Harry's issues and he folded his arms.

"Harry I don't know why you fear possession so much, but I can promise you, neither I nor Bakura mean any harm to our hikaris."

Bakura was rather alarmed to hear Yami sticking up for him, but he recovered swiftly and nodded in agreement.

"What about the rest of us?" Hermione asked. "Would you hurt us?"

"Only if you hurt them," Bakura said, making sure to imply threat in his tone. Yami stiffened.

"I shall reiterate what I told your headmaster earlier today," he said, taking Harry, Ron and Hermione by surprise. "We do not seek to hurt anyone. But if someone causes our hikari's any pain then we do not sit idly by and let them get away with it. You have seen what happened to Malfoy when he dared threaten us."

"Dumbledore knows about you?!" Ron asked in surprise. Yami inclined his head.

"He said he would trust us," he said. "So long as we do not start any more Shadow Games or put any of the students in danger."

Harry was thinking hard. Dumbledore trusted Yami and Bakura and had not rejected them when he had discovered their secret. He had known that the headmaster had taken in students and staff, whom anyone else might have shunned, like Remus or Hagrid, but had he really trusted two spirits who inhabited the bodies of two teenage boys?

"Well…" Hermione muttered. "If Dumbledore trusts you both…then I suppose I do too."

Ron nodded in agreement. Yami looked relieved and Bakura just shrugged, wanting nothing more than to retreat to his soul room and sleep through the weekend.

"Harry?" Malik asked, noticing that the final person had yet to speak. The Boy Who Lived seemed to be deep in thought.

"Alright," he said eventually. "But if I see any sign…"

"Then I'm sure you'll hunt us down to the ends of the afterlife," Bakura interjected scornfully. "But for now, can we please call this a night? I'm tired. My hikari's exhausted, and I know the shrimp is about to pass out in his soul room."

Yami's eyes inflamed with anger. "Stop snooping on our souls Bakura! And call Yugi a shrimp again and I swear to Ra I'll lock you back into that Ring!"

Bakura snorted. "Like to see you try your Royal Shortness…"

"Ignore them," Malik advised the startled looking Gryffindors. "They just have a bit of a history together. They normally don't do anything to each other. Yugi and Ryou will stop them before they do."

"Right…" Hermione said slowly, watching the still bickering spirits. "Well I'm going to go to bed then. Night everyone."

There was a vague mutter of goodnights, as everyone trekked back to the dormitories, Yugi and Ryou taking control of their bodies and following, leaving Yami and Bakura to argue in spirit form in front of the common room fire.

* * *

**A/N: **Poor Harry and his possession issues. Feel free to hug him!

And so we've touched a little more on Bakura's past. If you want to read more of my own interpretation, don't forget that I have a oneshot up explaining my take on his childhood. Go read! Please?

Anyway, we broke 300 reviews! Yay! (throws party)

Thanks again to Isis the Sphinx for being a smashing beta!

Erm…not a lot to say really…except please review and tell me what you thought.


	23. Chapter 23: Listening In

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter and YuGiOh. Neither does anyone on this site. Sucks to be us.

* * *

**Chapter 23: Listening In**

"I tribute Alpha the Magnet Warrior (1400/1700), Beta the Magnet Warrior (1700/1600), and Gamma the Magnet Warrior (1500/1800) to summon Valkyrion the Magna Warrior (3500/3850)!"

The three little magnet warriors broke apart and reformed into the tall imposing form of Valkyrion. On the other side of the pitch, Malik growled.

"Keep trying Yugi, it still can't destroy my Revival Jam (1500/500)! I've got more than enough Life Points to bring it back next turn!"

The small jelly like creature did not seem as confident however and it seemed to shrink under the deadly looking rock monster.

"So now ladies and gentlemen if you look to the left of the pitch," said Bakura in a bored voice. "You will see a rather pissed off Malik, who by now must have realised that he will shortly be in the possession of no monsters and a rather stonking pain in the region of his ass when he lands on it after having all his life points wiped out. Feel his pain everyone."

The few people in the stands, mostly sixth years as this was their free period, laughed harder as Malik's response was to flip the thief off.

"Straight after this Bakura," he said. "You're going down."

"Straight after this we have to go to Transfiguration," Yami reminded him. "And Malik. Your Revival Jam may be protecting your life points, but I've found a way around that. Activate trap card, Meteorain!"

The pink-bordered card flipped up and Malik groaned.

"Valkyrion attack his Revival Jam and end this duel!" Yami shouted. The magnet warrior charged and slashed its sword through the plasma monster. Revival Jam exploded, parts of it flying off and slamming into Malik, who fell over backwards as the equivalent of 3000 points of damage was done to him, leaving his Life Points at 0.

"Told you so," Bakura said smugly as the students began to applaud. Yami smirked before approaching Malik.

"Good game Malik. But I'm still better."

Malik growled angrily and shut his duel disk off. He had been in an exceptionally bad mood since Ishizu's letter had arrived the previous day. Though Vampire Lord had arrived not long after Malik had sent him, contacting the rest of the Tomb Keepers had taken her the better part of the week, plus another week for the borrowed owl to arrive. Malik had almost ripped the letter in two in eagerness. Unfortunately the members of the clan that Ishizu had been able to track down were the ones that she trusted not to have given information out, and they had all sworn total loyalty to her. Malik was still in a bad mood the following day, so much that he had sworn at three first years who had walked into him, and set the stack of books upon which Professor Flitwick stood on in Charms on fire with a displaced spell.

This bad mood rubbed off on Yugi and Ryou, though fortunately not to the extent where they felt the need to knock people over. Yugi was nervous, and his Yami's agitation only increased this nervousness. The idea that the Tomb Keepers, one of Egypt's best-guarded secrets, could have had a traitor was horrifying, especially considering the information they would have been privy too. For Yami, it meant the information about his past was at risk, and therefore, the safety of he and his Aibou. To Yugi it meant more danger, more pain, and more chance of being taken away from Yami.

Ryou was not as agitated about the idea of the Items secret, but more at another very subtle change in the magic at Hogwarts. He and Bakura had picked up on it a few days ago, and it was exactly the same as it had been those fateful few days before Halloween, when Malfoy had first bought the Orichalcos rock into the castle. There was the same negativity and the pricklings of unease wherever the two went, like a shift in the air currents.

It was this that Bakura dwelt on as he relinquished control to Ryou so that he could go to Transfiguration. It was half way through the lesson before he decided to do something constructive. In spirit form, he stowed away to Yugi's side and not too subtly waved a hand in front of his face. Yugi, who had been attempting to transfigure one of Malik's bangles into a frog, jumped and squeaked loudly as the thief got his attention. Several people looked around, and Yugi blushed as they all went back to their work.

"I need to speak to his Highness," Bakura said irritably. Malik had blinked several times upon hearing this sentence.

"'Scuse me, I'm looking for my friend Bakura. He's about your height and I swear he was standing there in spirit form a second ago," he said. Bakura just rolled his eyes as Yami appeared in spirit form. Bakura indicated a place out of the way at the back of the classroom and the two made their way there. Yugi watched curiously for a while before going back to his task.

"What's wrong guys?" Harry asked, having noticed the way they had all stopped suddenly.

"Nothing," Yugi said, giving them all a winning smile. "Everything's fine."

From the look on his face, Harry was not convinced. Yugi sighed. It was going to take a while to re-establish trust between their two parties. Yami and Bakura were cautious about taking control in the presence of the other Gryffindors. Despite the uneasy peace that had been formed after Shadi's Shadow Game, Harry in particular was still weary of the spirits. What it was that made him so suspicious of them, neither Yami nor Bakura had any ideas, and it certainly did not look as though the Boy Who Lived would be sharing this reason any time soon.

Yami and Bakura faced each other, eyes narrowed in equal dislike. Despite their cooperation (if you could call the last few months of snide remarks, arguments and their one civilised conversation on New Years Day a form of cooperation) both were still weary of each other. Yami's experience of Bakura still stretched mostly to a deranged sociopath who cared little for anyone but himself. Bakura still resented Yami for the slaughter of his village, the death of his mother and sisters, and for sealing him away in the Ring. Ancient grudges would never heal overnight.

"Problem Bakura?" Yami asked, his arms folded.

"Obviously," Bakura said. "I'm sure you must have noticed it by now."

"The shift in power," Yami nodded. "I am aware of it. At first I thought it might have been just rebound from Malfoy worming his way out of his Penalty Game. But it's been two weeks since that happened, so clearly I was wrong."

Malfoy had returned to the school a week after he had come out of his apparent coma. Yugi, Ryou and Malik had been prepared for the worst when he had appeared in the Great Hall for breakfast the morning. But Malfoy, much to their surprise, had just slunk off to the Slytherin table, and sat down on his own quietly. A few of his housemates had tried to greet him, only to receive a quiet nod and no speech at all. It seemed that the Penalty Game had had one hell of an impact on his behaviour.

Yami sighed and pulled his mind back to the present. The shift in power had been lingering for the last few days, but he had put it down to the imbalance of the Shadows losing a prisoner. But it certainly did not make sense that it had continued for this long. Yami shuddered at the thought that another test would soon occur just as everything had been smoothed over with their friends, particularly in light of the attack on Joey and Mai a few weeks ago. He looked at Bakura. The thief was looking oddly pensive, and Yami guessed he was brooding over the feeling too.

"I knew you and Ryou would be the first to sense it," Yami admitted. "Your hikari has a knack for picking up disturbances. Probably what makes him so good at Divination."

Bakura smirked. "He has had good teachers. And I'm not talking about the Insect Queen who lives in the North Tower."

Yami snorted with laughter, for he had seen Trelawney once in the corridors, and completely agreed with the description. Bakura looked smug. He was not just referring to his own teaching skills. Ryou had originally learned spiritual affairs from his mother, who had taught he and Amane the basics. After she had died, Ryou's interest in the occult had taken a darker and more serious role in his life and with Bakura's appearance his education had expanded even more.

Yami raised an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth quirking at the proud look on the other spirit's face. He, like everyone else had noticed the apparently developing relationship between Ryou and Bakura, though most of the indication came from Ryou. This was the first time he had seen Bakura act in any way affectionate towards to his host with his own eyes. He chuckled.

"You surprise me Bakura."

The thief frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. Yami chuckled.

"It's taken you over two years, but you've finally started caring for him."

Bakura scowled. "How I feel about my hikari is none of your concern Pharaoh."

Yami knew better than to press, but he felt a smug sense of triumph at the pinch of colour that appeared at the bridge of the thief's nose. Evidently it cost Bakura to admit that after five thousand years a small ounce of human emotion had entered his heart.

"So what do we do about this power shift?" the Pharaoh asked. Bakura shrugged.

"From this angle, it doesn't look like there is much we can do except wait for it to play out."

Yami raised another eyebrow. Bakura had never been one to just sit back and wait for the action to come to him. He would much rather charge in and deal with it immediately.

"And this sits well with you?" he asked, eyebrow still raised. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to sit around and wait for a repeat of Joey's attack the other week…"

"And you think I'm thrilled about the idea?" Bakura snapped angrily. "I'm sick of playing defensive just as much as you are Pharaoh! But as much as it pains me to admit it, we have no idea what is going to happen, so there is very little…"

He trailed off, his eyes taking a blank and distant tone to them. Yami looked surprised, and mildly alarmed at the thief's sudden stillness.

"Bakura?"

"Shh!" the thief snapped, clearly concentrating. It did not last long however, and he snapped back to himself before offering a brief explanation.

"Souls of the Forgotten are reporting in," he said, before vanishing faster than lightning back into the Ring. Yami turned to look at Ryou, who had stopped what he was doing and was now standing with a faraway look in his eyes, indicating that he was talking to Bakura. Yami frowned. There was still twenty minutes left before the end of the lesson and there was no way McGonagall would let Ryou leave for an unexplained reason…

As this thought crossed his head, Ryou suddenly swooned and grabbed the desk to stop him from falling over and crashing painfully into the floor. Yugi and Malik immediately grabbed his elbows to steady him. Yami retreated back into the Puzzle for better listening.

"Ryou?" Yugi asked in concern, though from the emotion flooding through his aibou's mind, Yami could tell that the concern was false, which really puzzled him. He breathed a mental sigh of understanding however as he saw Malik slip the end of a brightly coloured sweet into his pocket. Clearly Ryou's sudden light-headedness was a product of a Skiving Snackbox.

"You okay?" Malik asked, loudly enough to attract the attention of several people standing nearby. Professor McGonagall swooped on them immediately.

"What is going on?" she asked, taking in Ryou's pale visage and the way his two friends were supporting him. "Mr Bakura are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine…" Ryou said, trying to sound convincing. He knew to make this deception more believable he was going to have to act as he normally would. Meaning he would deny illness until the bitter end. "Just a little dizzy…"

"You've been dizzy since lunchtime," Malik said, playing along. "Maybe you should go lie down."

"No really," Ryou said trying to stand on his own feet unsupported. "I feel okay now…"

His words fell on deaf ears as the sweet finally took its toll and he flopped backwards into his friend's waiting arms, now completely dead to the classroom. Professor McGonagall's eyebrows rose higher. She was clearly surprised at this sudden situation, and was also clearly suspicious (if you taught some serious pranksters such as the Weasley twins and the Marauders you were bound to become paranoid about students attempting to fake illness). However the fact that Ryou was well and truly out cold, and the fact that he was a polite, quiet, good student who never attempted to play up in class was clearly outweighing all her doubts.

"Take him back to your dormitory," she ordered Yugi. The diminutive hikari gulped and tried to hoist his friend over his shoulder, but since Ryou was bigger than him by nine inches and the region of twenty pounds, he was struggling to keep his balance.

"Oh for…" McGonagall trailed off shaking her head in exasperation. "Ishtar, help him please."

"You got it," Malik said happily, taking Ryou's other arm and grinning at the glare Yugi sent in his direction.

"See you guys later," Yugi said, shooting Harry, Ron and Hermione a look. Together he and Malik dragged Ryou out of the room and away from their staring classmates. Only when they were two corridors away did they stop. Yugi propped Ryou against the wall, and Malik pulled the rest of the sweet out of his pocket before shoving it into the albino's mouth without ceremony. Ryou awoke with a spluttering cough as the sweet became lodged in his throat. After much choking and gasping, he managed to swallow the chew.

"Are you trying to kill us?!" Bakura screamed, taking over once his hikari had freed his airway. Malik stifled his snickers.

"Technically you're already dead Bakura," he pointed out. "Anyway what was so important that we had to rush you and Ryou out of Transfiguration due to a Fainting Fancy? We're risking McGonagall's wrath you know."

He gave a theatrical shudder. Ignoring him, Bakura got to his feet and turned to face the direction of the dormitory.

"Souls of the Forgotten are trying to communicate with me. We should get back to the dormitory so I can contact them."

Yugi and Malik perked up. Evidently the thought of some insight into Voldemort's plans was tempting.

"Why are we standing here then?" Malik asked. "Let's go!"

OOO

Harry, Ron and Hermione raced up to the dormitory as soon as the bell rang, expecting to find Ryou still unconscious and his friends waiting for him to get up. What they did not expect was for all three of them to be sitting on Ryou's bed, their Millennium Item's glowing, looking as though they were in some sort of trance.

"Erm…guys?"

Malik opened his eyes and smiled upon seeing them. Yugi and Ryou – or rather, Harry realised – Yami and Bakura, remained where they were.

"Sorry about that," Malik said. "Something came up during the lesson."

"Erm…wasn't Ryou passed out earlier?" Ron asked, gesturing at Bakura. Malik gave a sly grin.

"Skiving Snackbox," he said. "Your brothers are awesome Ron!"

Hermione cut in, her curiosity outweighing her disapproval for skipping lessons. "What's going on exactly?"

"Well see," Malik said, realising that they had not filled their friends in on their plan to eavesdrop on Voldemort's intentions. "The other week, Bakura sent one of his monsters to spy on Voldemort, and they're kinda reporting in right now, which is why we had to leave."

"Malik," Bakura said in a voice that was almost monotonous but with a hint of urgency. The Egyptian slammed a hand into his forehead before turning to sit back down properly. He thought for a second before turning back to the three Gryffindors.

"Erm…could you guys possibly keep watch for us? And maybe soundproof the room if you know how? We'd rather no one barge in on us."

Hermione and Harry immediately began soundproofing the door and walls, while Ron, improvising, rummaged around in his trunk before pulling out a handful of Dungbombs and tossing them down the staircase to ensure some peace for a few hours. Hermione then performed a complicated charm that turned the door into a single sided window, allowing them to see anyone coming up the stairs.

Motionless on the bed, Bakura was focusing hard on his monsters. He could sense the Pharaoh and Malik next to him, their Items allowing them to hear the message from his monsters too. To them it was like reading messages off a billboard, but to him, since he was the one who summoned the monsters, he could see everything from the view point of Souls of the Forgotten.

"So what's been happening?" Ron asked.

"Well me and Yami are listening into the report," Malik explained. "We're kinda siphoning off Bakura. We've only got a loose connection. Bakura's getting the full reception, which is why he's not saying a lot."

"He's connected to his monsters?" Harry asked. "How?"

"Well…" Malik said, tilting his head as he looked at Bakura. "He's kinda seeing everything from their point of view. Bakura's been providing the energy for the monsters since he summoned them. Think of it as an invisible string between him and the monsters. That line allows him to communicate with them and see and hear things that they can too."

"So where are they now?" Hermione asked. This time it was Yami who answered as Malik rejoined the mental transmission.

"Souls of the Forgotten have infiltrated Voldemort's base of operations. They're currently listening in on a meeting."

He turned back to the circle, leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione to stand there with bemused looks on their faces.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Ron asked quietly. Harry too felt as though he were standing in a very strict library. Ironically the silence felt louder than the Great Hall on a crowded day.

"I guess we just wait," Hermione said. "There doesn't seem like much we can do. We can't see what they're seeing. We don't have an Item."

"We'll tell you what's going on," Yami said, not breaking concentration completely. His voice was eerily emotionless. "Right now Voldemort's discussing the attack on Bognor Regis yesterday."

The three Gryffindors nodded. It had been in the paper that very morning. Twelve were dead, fifteen were injured, and twenty-six had had their souls removed. It seemed while Voldemort was investigating the Item bearers and trying to take their souls, he was not about to let the Wizarding World think he had dropped off the face of the planet, and the random acts of terrorism were still going on.

"Voldemort is saying…its not enough souls…that he needs more…"

He trailed off, and Harry and Ron exchanged puzzled looks.

"More souls?" Hermione asked, looking horrified at the idea. "What for? Why is he collecting them?"

"Don't know, but it looks like he has not told the Death Eaters either. Some of them seem confused," Malik said.

They fell silent again, and the other three in the room could only assume that there was a change of topic. Harry however was musing to himself. What on earth _did_ Voldemort want souls for? Why was he having the Orichalcos collect them for him when he already had a perfectly good way of getting rid of souls; the Dementors. He must be collecting them for something. But what?

"Joey!" Yami breathed suddenly. "They're talking about the attack on Joey the other week…and how security has been increased. Every time they get to him, Hermos is guarding him. The same with Kaiba and Critias…though Blue Eyes is still protecting him too by the sounds of it…"

"The Dragons won't let them be harmed," Malik smiled. "That's good to know."

While the relay of messages was going on, Bakura was concentrating hard on his monsters. From his vantage point, he guessed that Souls of the Forgotten were hiding in a corner of the room, masked by the shadows and low lighting. The room was dusty, and from the shivers of the Death Eaters, it was draughty too. There was no real clue which part of the country it was, but he guessed that it was probably in England. Despite the fact it was now March, the weather had shown no signs of improving. It was still as dark and dreary as the previous months had been.

Voldemort was pacing in front of his chair, around the legs of which Nagini was curled. The line of Death Eaters before him was small; presumably Voldemort only let those whom he trusted in. All of them had a small fragment of Orichalcos rock on a chain around their necks, which pulsed and glowed occasionally.

"Can you identify any of the Death Eaters?" Harry asked, after this fact was relayed.

"They're all hooded, but their masks are gone," Yami said. "There's a tall blonde man…"

"Probably Lucius Malfoy," Ron said immediately.

"Draco's father?" Malik asked. The others nodded.

"Thin…scrawny…looks to be trembling a little bit…wait, Voldemort just addressed him as Nott."

"I remember him," Harry said, remembering the simpering suck up of a Death Eater who had been present during Voldemort's rebirth.

"There's two more," Yami said. "One of them we can't see. The other…I think his name was Dolohov."

Hermione shuddered, and Ron gave her a reassuring smile. The Death Eater who had cursed her in the Department of Mysteries the previous June, was not someone to be messed with.

"Can you name the last one?" Harry asked urgently. Bakura scowled at being told what to do, but he ordered his monsters to move in a little closer. As he did, the torchlight flickered, throwing the man's face into sharp focus.

"I don't believe it!" Yami gasped.

"I do," Malik said grimly. "Should have known he was a Death Eater."

"Who?" Harry asked, his voice now bordering on desperate.

"Snape," Yami spat. "He's the last in the line of Death Eaters."

"Oh…" Harry deflated. "We knew that. He's a double agent."

"He is?" Malik asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "He's feeding the O…Dumbledore information."

He almost blurted out the Order of the Phoenix, but he caught himself in time. He might be willing to trust Yugi, Ryou and Malik, but he still did not completely trust the spirits that inhabited them. Besides, no one was supposed to know about the Order.

"He must have been leaving the Orichalcum somewhere," Yami said musingly. "We would have felt it if he bought it into the castle."

"Dumbledore wouldn't let him bring it within range of the students," Hermione said. "Don't you remember how he reacted when Malfoy's ring had to stay in the castle?"

"Guys," Malik said suddenly, his face betraying no emotion, but his voice telling a completely different story. "No offence, but we have bigger problems right now. Two people have just entered the room, and they look like duellists."

Bakura had seen them first. There was a beefy muscular man, and a tanned willowy woman, who bowed before Voldemort with reverence. On their left arms were Dark Mark shaped Duel Disks.

OOO

"Angus," Voldemort said lazily, inclining each duellist in turn with his head. "Raquel. I require two more duellists in the near future."

"You require our skills?" Raquel asked, her eyes glowing with excitement.

"Patience," the Dark Lord hissed. "Not yet. The knowledge you two possess about the monsters and the game itself may be useful in the near future. I cannot send you out just yet."

The '_just in case you lose and are sealed' _was not needed. Everyone heard it.

"If not us," Angus asked, folding his muscular arms. His Scottish accent was so thick that it was hard to understand him at points. "Then who?"

"I have two duellists already in mind. A chance to redeem themselves for their past failure."

It seemed no further explanation was necessary. Both Angus and Raquel's eyebrows shot up into their hair.

"No offence intended my Lord," Raquel said. "But those two are hardly skilled enough to take down Mutou and his friends."

"I don't know," Angus said, his brow furrowed. "The power the Orichalcos gives them has definitely improved their skills…"

"A marginal improvement," Raquel argued. "They're useless duellists, who hit their prime two years ago, and are now yesterday's news. The King of Games has beaten one of them twice, and even Wheeler can beat them, Orichalcos or no!"

A streak of white light exploded at Raquel's feet and she shrieked. Voldemort pointed his wand at her heart.

"Save your petty arguments for when you are not in my presence!" he snarled. "And you Raquel would do better not to question my motives!"

The woman fell silent, and looked at her shoes.

"My reasons for using those two are simple. Even if they do not win, they shall shake the duellists up, and I shall gain their souls as punishment for all their failure." He gave his two head duellists an icy glare. "Would it _relax_ you to know that they are not going to be duelling Mutou?"

Angus looked up in surprise, and Raquel twitched, but did not remove her eyes from the ground.

"They aren't?" Angus asked.

"No," Voldemort confirmed. "I plan to have them duel Ishtar and Bakura. Their presence is becoming troublesome, particularly after their efforts at the Regional Championships."

He gave a low chuckle.

"Though I cannot deny they helped in reclaiming the lost Orichalcum last term."

OOO

"What?!" Malik spluttered, temporarily losing his connection to the scene. "We _helped _him get a chunk of rock back?!"

"Shh!" Yami hissed, clearly concentrating on the conversation. Malik rejoined him.

OOO

"Yes…" the Dark Lord said, pacing with a creepy smile on his face. "By tipping off the Ministry they alerted me too. The fool Hudge thought he could steal our power source and leave our ranks. But no one leaves Lord Voldemort. Nobody."

OOO

"You guys ever hear of a Death Eater called Hudge?" Malik asked.

"No," Harry and Ron shook their heads in unison, but Hermione however gasped.

"Yes! We have! And you guys have too!"

"Have we?" Harry asked.

"Yes!" Hermione said in exasperation. "Remember on our first day back last term? It was in the papers. Wilbur Hudge was killed in a hotel in Botley after he tried to leave the Death Eaters."

"Poor bloke," Ron said, with feeling.

"Yes, by the sounds of it," Yami said slowly. "He tried to leave with the Orichalcos rock that Malik and Bakura found in Borgin and Burkes on the day we went to Diagon Ally. He must have tried to get rid of it as soon as possible, and sold it to Borgin."

Harry however was thinking hard about something else. A vision of a small frightened looking blonde girl, with wide pleading eyes came to mind.

"Cali," he said.

"Excuse me?" Ron asked.

"Cali Hudge," Harry said, remembering now. "One of the Slytherin DA members. She must be his daughter. No wonder she and Zara were so keen to join, if Voldemort killed her father."

Hermione looked horrified, and Ron looked guiltily at his feet. He had not exactly been welcoming to either of the Slytherin girls. The transfers meanwhile were still focused on Voldemort.

"So Voldemort's got the rock back now," Malik said bitterly. "We should have just left it be."

"You didn't know," Harry said, but Malik was not listening. Bakura had suddenly gone rigid.

"Shit!"

A dull explosion ripped through the connection and Yami and Malik were abruptly shoved away and out of their trances. Yami slammed against one of the bedposts, and Malik was flung off the bed and landed in an ungraceful heap on the floor. Bakura however had collapsed backwards against the pillows breathing heavily.

"He's found them," he hissed, before falling back again with a scream of pain.

"What's happening to him?!" Hermione panicked. Harry was incredibly glad that they had put silencing charms on the room. Bakura's face was screwed up in agony, his yells rocking everyone to their core. None of them had ever heard him scream before.

"His monsters must have been attacked," Yami summarised. "Because they're linked to Bakura's life force, he can feel their pain."

"The Cruciatus curse," Harry said. "It's the only thing painful enough to do this to him."

"Bakura!" Malik yelled. "Snap out of it! Call your monsters back!"

There was a shift in the air, and Ryou fazed out next to his pain-ridden yami. Tears were shining on his translucent cheeks.

"Ryou what's going on?" Yami demanded.

"He's shielding me from the pain," Ryou said fearfully. "I can't take over, and he doesn't have the strength to block me and to call them back."

Malik swore loudly, and Yami began flicking through his deck, but everyone was distracted as Bakura suddenly went limp against the bed.

"Bakura?" Malik asked.

"He's questioning them," the thief panted, trying not to betray how much he hurt. "Wants to know…which of us sent them…"

"Yami, drop your shields and call them back!" Ryou urged.

/_No way!_/ Bakura said forcibly, retreating to the link as it took less effort to communicate. /_You wouldn't be able to take this! I won't put you through it Ryou! I've done enough to you in the past!_/

The Puzzle glowed and next to the Pharaoh a tall blue skinned elf, in a green dress appeared. Her long blonde hair fell around her as she clasped her hands together and began to pray. Bakura abruptly felt some of his strength return.

"Mystical Elf can't keep you sustained forever Bakura," Yami warned, knowing that it would drain he and Yugi to keep the monster out. "You need to do what Ryou says and let him take over while you call the monsters back."

"Would you put your hikari through this?!" Bakura demanded, having enough strength to talk (or rather yell hoarsely) at the Pharaoh. Before Yami could retort however, Bakura swore again and began to writhe in pain.

"Idiot Tomb Robber!" Malik snapped. "He's going to kill himself if this keeps up!"

"Bakura! Call them back!"

/_Yami let me help!_/

OOO

"Who is your master?!" Voldemort thundered, his wand never leaving the writhing group of spirits before him. "Which of the bearers sent you?!"

The ghosts did not answer, they only continued to moan in pain. Voldemort's wand jerked and twisted, each movement bringing forth more agony.

It had been pure coincidence that he had seen them eavesdropping. He had turned around abruptly in his pacing, and spied the ghosts peering out from the corner of the room. His wand had been on them instantly, blasting them out of hiding and placing them under the Cruciatus curse.

The ghosts stopped moving, their screams vanishing as they began sinking slowly into the floor before vanishing completely in a whirl of shadows. Voldemort screamed in fury as he realised what must have happened.

"Damn them!"

The Death Eaters fled, as the angry Dark Lord flung hexes around the room, blasting anything in sight with his rage. The Orichalcos stones glowed happily from the negative emotion.

OOO

"Bakura?" Yami asked urgently, shaking the unconscious thief by his shoulder. Ryou had vanished in the commotion. "Bakura?"

"It's me," Ryou said weakly, opening his weary brown eyes and wincing as he tried to move. "God…Yami wasn't kidding when he said it hurt…"

Mystical Elf began chanting again, and Ryou felt some of his energy return as she healed his life force. It definitely did not hurt as much to move, but his joints were still aching.

"Thank you," he said, to Yami and to the Duel Monster. Yami nodded to Mystical Elf and she vanished back into the card. Ryou pulled out his side deck, where he had been keeping Souls of the Forgotten while they were spying, and pulled out the card to find the monsters image back where it should be.

"They're back," he said, still struggling for air. "Safe and sound."

"Where's Bakura?" Malik asked. "What happened to him?"

"He's in his soul room," Ryou said, pushing himself up onto the pillows. "He's worn out. I persuaded him to drop the shields, so he could recall them. If Voldemort had done more damage it could have destroyed them."

"And Bakura along with them," Yami finished. "We'd better not send anyone else to spy on him. He'll be doubly cautious now."

"How do you feel Ryou?" Yugi asked, having fazed out next to his dark, anxious to check on his friend.

"A bit better," Ryou assured them. "Thanks for summoning Mystical Elf guys."

"Not a problem," Yami said. "What was it though that caused the pain?"

"Voldemort," Ryou said. "He saw Souls of the Forgotten hiding in the room, and he attacked them. He used some sort of spell…"

"Crucio?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, that was it," Ryou nodded. "Since they were bonded to Bakura, he and I took the damage."

"Looked like one hell of a spell," Malik commented. He, along with everyone else, was slightly unnerved at hearing Bakura in so much pain, let alone openly admit to it by screaming.

"It is," Hermione said. "The Cruciatus curse is one of the three Unforgivable curses. The use of them is enough to land a person in Azkaban for the rest of their lives. The Cruciatus is the torture curse."

"Really? I would never have guessed," Malik said dryly.

"You're safe though right?" Ron asked suddenly. "You-Know-Who can't trace you or anything through your monsters can he?"

Malik snorted. "Think Ron. Voldemort knows we have the Millennium Items and since he's seen us summoning monsters before he must know some of their powers. He knows it was either one of us, Kaiba or Joey. And since we're closer to him, which makes summoning easier, he must have gathered that it was one of us."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"After all that…" Harry said. "We're not that much closer to knowing exactly what Voldemort wants."

"Not true," Yami said. "We understand now what happened to the Orichalcum in Borgin and Burkes. And I suppose it explains why Cali and Zara were so desperate to join the DA."

"And we know about his duellists now," Malik pointed out. "Me and Ryou can start preparing."

"If those two are the ones training Voldemort's duellists," Ryou put in. "We're not going to have an easy time."

"You know who they are?" Ron asked.

"Angus McLohan and Raquel Chandler," Ryou recited. "They were at the British Regionals in September, but they were knocked out in the Semi finals. They haven't competed since…now we know why."

"So Voldemort was watching the British Regionals," Yami said. "I had been wondering."

"When's the next big tournament?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"That Yugi and I know of," Yami said. "The East Asian Championships are in a week, but I think Voldemort would have said something about it when we were listening if he intended to do any harm. Joey will be there none the less, so he can keep an eye on things and tell us about it during the holidays. The American National Championships are over the Easter Holidays, but I doubt Voldemort would go that far to find duellists. It might be worth getting in contact with Rebecca though. She'll definitely be there. I think Duke is competing too, so we can have both of them watch the tournament for us."

"Rebecca?" Ron asked blankly. "Duke?"

"Friends of ours," Yugi said taking control back from Yami now that the drama was over. "The American Nationals shouldn't be a problem if they're there to keep an eye on them. Most of the European circuits finished about February, which was why Mai came back to Domino the other week. I'm not too sure about the other circuits in the world. I think the Oceania and African Championships have come and gone already, but I could be wrong. I don't know about any of the others."

"The African ones definitely have," Malik nodded. "I would have taken part if I hadn't been here."

"So that's it until the World Championships this summer," Ryou concluded. "In which so far, Kaiba, and you Yugi will definitely be competing, along with the winners of the national tournaments."

"So basically we have to defeat Voldemort before we break up for the summer holidays?" Malik summarised grimly.

Everyone exchanged looks. Somehow, they didn't think it was going to be that easy.

OOO

Yugi trudged down to the Common room later that evening. It was almost midnight, and everyone else had gone to bed. The armchairs and sofas were deserted, the glow of the fire casting shadows on the walls. Yugi hugged his dressing gown closer around him. It might have been early March, but it was still cold. The Dementors were having a whale of a time feeding despair to the unsuspecting British public.

The King of Games had wandered down to search for the missing member of the dormitory. Ryou had been sleeping ever since they had finished eavesdropping on Voldemort. He had only got up briefly to eat some of the dinner that Malik had snuck from the Great Hall. Bakura had of course been shut up in his soul room ever since, and Yami had anticipated earlier that they would see neither hide nor hair of the thief until tomorrow morning at the earliest. Malik, Ron and the rest of their dorm mates were sleeping.

Only Harry was missing. The Boy Who Lived had never come to bed, and Ron had suggested sleepily that someone should go look for him, before dropping off into oblivion himself. As Yugi was the only one awake, he had been lumped with the responsibility. As sleep was a long way in coming, he had grabbed his dressing gown and headed down.

It did not take long. As Yugi descended the staircase he saw Harry. He was sitting in front of the fire, so still that he almost didn't notice him. He looked as though he were miles away. He also looked, Yugi noticed, so much older than his sixteen years showed.

"Harry?" he asked softly, not wanting to disturb him. Harry did not move instantly, but his shoulders stiffened ever so slightly, telling Yugi that he had heard him. He approached the fireplace and sat down next to him.

"It's getting late," he said kindly. "Don't you want to turn in?"

Harry just shrugged. Yugi folded his arms and looked curiously at his friend.

"What's wrong?" His forehead wrinkled in confusion. Harry had been out of sorts for the past few weeks now, and it was starting to bother Yugi. After all, the last time any of them were acting like this, it turned out the Orichalcos was influencing their behaviour.

Harry gazed into the firelight, his eyes unfocused behind his glasses. He had been sitting there since the Common Room had started to empty. With all his work out of the way (by Hermione's instruction) he had been left to sit and brood on the events of the day. He was not coming to any kind of conclusion in his thoughts however. They just chased around his head like rogue bludgers.

"Okay let's play a game," Yugi said, a playful challenge in his eye. Harry looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"Well if you won't tell me what's bothering you I'll have to guess," Yugi smiled, folding his arms. "I get five turns to guess what's wrong. If I win, you tell me what's bothering you. If I lose, I'll leave you be."

Harry blinked at his shorter classmate.

"You're strange Yugi."

"Tell me about it," Yugi said with a grin. "Now let's think…does it have something to do with school?"

Harry gave a weak chuckle. If only things could be so simple that the biggest worry on his mind would be school. Maybe for other witches or wizards…but not him.

"I'll take that as a no," Yugi said. "So is it something to do with…Voldemort?"

This time Harry did not move. Yugi guessed he was close.

"Okay…is it something to do with…Snape? Or the elder Malfoy maybe?"

Harry shook his head slowly. He had given the thought some matter since the afternoon's events, but it was not the most pressing thing on his mind at the moment.

"Is it…" Yugi said slowly. "Something to do with us?"

At first glance, Harry remained motionless, but Yugi saw the way he stiffened slightly. Bingo.

"Is it something to do with our Other Selves?" he asked, now sure he had hit the mark. He had noticed that Harry was far from comfortable around Yami and Bakura. Harry sighed and finally broke his gaze from the fire.

"Does it scare you?"

"You've asked me this before," Yugi said with a frown, remembering the night they had told their Gryffindor friends the half completed story about the Yami's and the Items.

"I know, but I want a full answer this time. Have you ever felt like you can't trust…the other you?" Harry asked. "Has he ever given you reason to doubt him?"

Unwillingly, memories of the first months of owning the Puzzle flashed across Yugi's mind. Waking up with a few hours of his memory missing. Those people being taken into hospital, for mental conditions or strange comas. Harry did not need an answer to his question. Yugi's hesitation spoke volumes.

"If there is even the slightest chance," Harry said. "Then you shouldn't be letting him take your body like that."

Yugi sighed wearily. They had tried. They had tried the night they explained it to them, and countless times since then when questioned by Hermione (though all the bearers were willing to say no more than they had on the first night). But it seemed Harry did not understand.

Yugi mentally snorted. How could he make Harry understand? His bond with Yami was intimate, complex and precious to him. How did you describe a person who was brother, mentor, partner, protector and soul mate all in one? Who was more than that, truth be given. How could he explain something, so powerfully close to him that it felt as natural as breathing, to a total stranger?

He drew a breath and began to speak. Harry needed to be told this.

"I was afraid," he admitted. "At first. For the first few months, I would wake up and not remember what had happened to me. There were big blank spaces of my memory, when Yami had taken over. I remembered nothing. I still don't remember them now. Originally I wanted to know everything that he had done that I had been unaware of. But then I wondered, given the condition some of the people in Penalty Games were in, that maybe I didn't want to know."

Harry was listening silently, his face a complete mask.

"I don't know when I realised Yami was there," Yugi continued, fingering the Puzzle as he spoke. "I think it crept up on me occasionally, that there was another presence in my mind, guiding me, prodding me in the right direction occasionally. When I told my friends, I thought they would abandon me. But they didn't. After I knew they'd still be with me, no matter what the Other me did, I felt strong. That was the first time I let Yami take over willingly."

"And you forgave him for everything?" Harry asked, his voice holding no emotion. It was rather like he was saving all his opinions for after the story was over.

"I didn't really know at that point," Yugi admitted. "When I did find out…I was upset. But Yami had helped me so much. I had the courage to make new friends, and I had not been bullied once since he came along. And he…he was just, _there_ Harry. He was someone I owed a lot to. And he owed a lot to me. I had released him from five thousand years of darkness. We were…connected."

"But you've doubted him before?" Harry pressed. Yugi sighed again.

"During Duellist Kingdom, I had to duel Kaiba," he explained. "If Kaiba lost, Pegasus would have kept his little brother hostage. And if I had lost, I would have lost the only chance I had to save my Grandfather from Pegasus. It got down to our last few life points. Kaiba was getting desperate. Yami had the advantage, so Kaiba decided to force his hand. For each hundred life points he lost, he took a step back until he was standing on the edge of the roof we were duelling on. If we attacked him we would have won, but Kaiba would have jumped off the roof."

Harry felt a sick feeling grow in his stomach, not just at the idea of someone going so far to win a game, but also because he had a horrible feeling he knew where this was going.

"I started to fight," Yugi admitted. "I didn't want to kill Kaiba. But Yami did not want to throw in the duel and lose the chance to rescue Grandpa. He called the attack out, but I managed to take over again, and stop it."

"He wanted to kill him?" Harry said in a cold voice. Yugi nodded.

"And you forgave him?" Harry asked. "Just like that? After what he had done?"

"That's what friends do," Yugi said. "They forgive each other. Yami did what he thought was right. It wasn't right, he admits that now, and I've forgiven him."

"How can you trust him when he almost killed someone you know and like?" Harry asked. "How can you let him take over your body when you know he's capable of taking life like that?"

Yugi shook his head. "Yami's not like he was back then. He's changed. We were desperate in that battle. I trust him to do the right thing Harry. He wouldn't do anything he knows I would not agree with."

"And what if he starts killing again?" Harry asked. "What happens to your trust then?"

"Yami wouldn't do that," Yugi defended immediately. "Everyone has the ability to kill Harry." He looked at his friend shrewdly. "You know that. You might have to do it."

Harry froze. "What do you mean?"

Yugi shrugged. "From what I've heard around the school, everyone seems to think you're going to be the one to stop Voldemort. You've done it before," he gestured to his scar. "Everyone expects you to do it again. Could you do it? Could you kill him?"

Harry sat there stupidly. He had never thought of it in that respect before. He had often wondered if he would have it in him to kill. He knew it was more than likely considering the nature of the Prophecy, that he would have to be the one to face and finally destroy Voldemort, but not just because of what the Prophecy said, but because he would want to be the one to end it, after everything that Voldemort had put him through in his life. But no one had ever asked him outright, if he would do it, or indeed, if he would be able to do it.

"I don't…" Harry trailed off. "It's different."

"No its not," Yugi shook his head. "You know everyone in this school could potentially kill. All they'd have to do is take out their wands and say '_Avada Kedavra'_. It might take them a few tries to get the right power of magic behind it, but they might be able to do it."

He sank into the armchair and gave his thoughtful classmate a look.

"What is this really about Harry?" he asked. "Why are you so afraid of the idea that Ryou and I are sharing bodies with our other selves? In my experience, people who fear something have a very strong reason to fear it. Why do you fear it so much?"

The thing Harry had been most worried about bringing up in this conversation, was now addressed. To tell Yugi, or not to tell Yugi? No one but Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione knew the full extent of what had happened in the Department of Mysteries last June, and he really did not want to share it with Yugi. But when the transfer leaned forward in his seat, his wide amethyst eyes wanting to understand, Harry felt his will start to bend. Yugi just wanted to help him, and to understand the problem he had with their other selves.

"I just…don't want any of you guys to get hurt."

"We've said we won't though," Yugi reminded him. "Why do you fear our yami's?"

Harry took a deep breath before speaking the words he had hoped never to repeat. "I've been possessed before."

Yugi's mouth opened in surprise as all the pieces clicked together.

"Oh…that's why. I take it that it wasn't a…"

"Welcome invasion?" Harry snorted. "No. It was Voldemort."

This time, Yugi looked utterly horrified.

"How?" he asked. Harry unconsciously fingered his scar.

"There's some sort of…connection from when he tried to kill me as a child. It's not really like yours, but he took over my body temporarily last June. I forced him out when I remembered my Godfather…somehow thinking of someone I cared about pushed him out of my mind."

"That can happen," Yugi admitted, remembering in Battle City when Odion had appeared in the finals, and how his presence had helped Malik to force Marik out of his body.

"Is that why you're worried about us and our other selves?" he asked. "Because Voldemort has possessed you, and you think we're being manipulated in the same way?"

"That's what I'm worried about," Harry said. "I just don't want you to get taken advantage of. Voldemort took advantage of our connection when he discovered it, and it got people killed. People I cared for. Voldemort didn't care. He just wanted power. I don't want the same thing to happen to you."

Unbeknown to Harry, he had touched a very sensitive nerve. Yugi got to his feet, and Harry swore he seemed to grow a few inches in anger. For a second he thought Yami had taken over his friend's body again, but it was angry eyes of amethyst that now scorched him in fury.

"Yami is _nothing_ like Voldemort. _Nothing _Harry. He would never take advantage of our bond."

Before Harry could mount an apology, clearly seeing that he had upset the King of Games, Yugi was already striding back up the staircase.

OOO

"I can't believe him!" Yugi said, pacing across the stone floor in anger. His bare feet made little noise, but his frustrated breathing made up for it. Yami stood in the corner, his arms folded, resting all his weight on his left leg.

In reality, Yugi was sound asleep behind the curtains of his four poster bed. His mind however was far from relaxed. Yugi, still decidedly upset by his conversation with Harry, had retreated to his soul room and gone to see Yami. In retrospect, he hadn't meant to blow up at Harry like that, but he couldn't help it. There were a few things in his life that Yugi was absolutely sure about, and his bond with Yami was one of them. Harry had no right to challenge that.

The Pharaoh himself had been listening to the conversation in the common room, but given the nature of the topic, had decided to stay quiet. He was upset that Harry did not trust them, and he thought it was a shame that he was letting his own experiences cloud his judgement, but he was also mildly peeved that Harry had dared to question the bond between him and Yugi, though he really could not blame the wizard for being suspicious. Yami knew he had not always been the nicest spirit ever.

"He has his reasons Yugi," Yami said gently. "And he does have a point. He has no reason to trust me or Bakura."

"He has our word as friends!" Yugi said. "That should be enough!"

"He was right though," Yami said. "I am capable of taking life, and it's fairly obvious that Bakura is too. Harry has every right to be weary of us."

"But it's like I said!" Yugi retorted, his voice tinged with exasperation. "Everyone is capable of taking life! Even I have the potential to kill someone!"

Yami's glare immediately silenced the hikari. "You are not a killer Yugi, and you never will be. You don't have a single evil cell in your body."

"It doesn't matter whether I am evil or not," Yugi said. "I could still do it! I don't want to do it, but I could if I had to. Everyone in the world has the ability to kill somebody, evil or not! What matters is whether or not they choose to use that ability! Why can't Harry see that?"

Yami sighed, as Yugi finally seemed to run out of steam. His light sank onto the floor and the Pharaoh unfolded his arms and went to sit down next to him.

"I know it upsets you Yugi," Yami said.

"Of course it does," Yugi said. "Aren't you the slightest bit upset that he compared you to Voldemort?"

"Of course," Yami said. "But that's the point. I could be like Voldemort. I could go out and murder innocent people, and to hell with the rest of the world. But I choose not to do that, because I know now what it means to care for people."

He gave Yugi a fond look as he spoke.

"If you asked Ryou a year ago," the Pharaoh continued. "And if you were to ask Malik now, they would have been in Harry's position too, fearing having their bodies usurped. Harry has every right not to trust possession given what has happened to him. Just give him time Aibou. If he can see past his own fear, he will eventually leave us alone. Don't let this spoil a friendship that you only just got back."

Yugi sighed before nodding slowly.

"Alright," he said. "But you'll forgive me if I'm angry at Harry for a little longer. He might be a friend, but you're more than a friend Yami. I value my bond with you far more than anything else."

And with those parting words, Yugi slipped back into his body and yawned into the quiet dormitory.

/_…Thank you Aibou_/

/_Any time Other me_/ Yugi mumbled, before drifting off to sleep. Yami smiled as he felt Yugi slip into dreams, deciding he should get some rest too. After all the information they had scavenged from Voldemort that day, he could tell that trials were coming up, and he wanted to be well rested for them.

It was only a matter of time before these two duellists came for his friends. And he wanted to be ready to help anyway he could.

And sure enough, two weeks later, a week before the Easter Holidays, the pulse of the Orichalcos beat through the castle again.

* * *

**A/N: **Ugh! You have no idea how long it took me to write this chapter!

Okay good news and bad news. I'll do the good first because it's quicker.

I got my results for my second year back. I won't bore you with my exact results, but out of my eight modules, three were 2.1s, so I'm pleased with those.

Bad news is I failed one module, which needs to be redeemed by the middle of August. So I'm going back to Winchester for that, and I won't be updating again until that is done. Essentially because if I fuck up again, I won't be going back for my third year, and I can't describe how much I do not want that to happen.

Plus there is the slightly problematic fact that chapter 24 is a duel and hasn't been written yet, so if you add the time it takes for me to write it and send it to two separate betas (I love you both btw) then you're going to be waiting well into August I'm afraid.

So yeah, those are my excuses. Hate me if you must, but ultimately, it's my choice, and I am not going to waste two years of education by failing one assignment. So I'll be back in a month or so, when I'm done with trying to fix the mess that is this module. Sorry everyone.

If you still feel like reviewing after all this, please do. It'll cheer me up to no end.


	24. Chapter 24: The Caged Yami

Hello children! I'm back! And it's great to be so! And thanks to everyone who was so patient and understanding about my extended leave.

Bakura: (marches in carrying the Disclaimer Dude by the scruff of his neck) Look who I found spying! (tosses his victim to the floor)

Mei: Hey! You're the Disclaimer Dude. Aren't you supposed to be stalking DuelistBlake1852? What are you doing in my story?

Disclaimer Dude: Stalking you instead! Blake does his own disclaimers now…

Bakura: Yeah well so do we! Now (snaps his fingers causing ropes to bind the Disclaimer Dude) I want to have some fun…(licks his knife)

Mei: (sweatdrops) What do I let into my house…?

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter and YuGiOh do not belong to me. All I own is one copy of each of the HP books (including the two Comic Relief books), my duelling deck and numerous other cards, a large number of manga volumes, my copy of YuGiOh the Movie, my fanart, and my fanfiction.

**On Tag Team Rulings: **I'm taking a leaf from MyAibou's fanfiction and having two distinct types of tag team rules, "Asian" and "American".

Asian rules involve each team having one field which both partners share spell/trap zones and monster zones. Both players share a pool of 8000 life points. Players may use their partners monsters for tributes and may activate their partners spells and traps that have been set on the field. They may also attack with their partners monsters during the Battle Phase.

American rules state that each player has their own individual field, and their own individual pool of 8000 life points each. When one player is defeated, their team mate continues without them. Players may not use their team mates monsters (for attacking or tributing), however they may activate their own spells/traps to defend their team mates from an attack.

**Warnings: **I'm seriously pushing my rating here, for there is a fair amount of bad language. But then again, this is Bakura and Malik duelling, so it was never going to be polite…

Bakura: (looks up from pinning the Disclaimer Dude to a dart board) What was that? Oh the chapter's starting…(sits comfortably, leaving his victim to sweat)

* * *

**Chapter 24: The Caged Yami**

"_Hikari…"_

The sheets wriggled and squirmed. Malik curled up on his side, one hand under his pillow, clutching the Millennium Rod like a safety blanket. The other hugged his stomach, as the nausea rose.

"_Hiiiiikaaariiii…"_

Sweat glistened on his forehead, which wrinkled in his sleep.

"_Pretty pretty hikari…"_

A frightened whimper escaped his throat.

"_I'm coming to find you…you cannot escape me pretty…"_

Fear surged through him. He couldn't see…he couldn't think…he felt sick. Cold icy breath appeared against his neck, as the voice rasped in his ear.

"_You're mine hikari."_

Arms seized him from behind, crushing…choking…trapping forever. The scars on his back seared in pain. He screamed but no sound came out…

"Malik! Wake up!"

Malik's eyes shot open, and he ripped the Rod from its hiding place, throwing his weight around to pin the person shaking him to the bed. The blade of the Rod found Bakura's throat.

"What the hell?!" the thief demanded, worried for a moment that the Eye of Horus would glow into life on his friend's forehead and his hair would start to spike. Malik blinked and tried to shake off the dream. He could still feel the arms around his back, and his scars were still stinging. He didn't want to touch them.

"Sorry," he muttered, getting off a very miffed looking Bakura.

"Malik?" Ryou took over and gripped his friend's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Malik said shortly, shaking off Ryou's hand. "What's with the wake up call? It's two in the morning."

He turned his head to see Yugi up and about, with his clothes on, and his duel disk on his arm. He was not smiling. It was now that Malik noticed the King of Games looked pale and drawn, and there was a look in his eyes that he had not seen since…

"Voldemort's made his move hasn't he?" he said. It wasn't really a question. He knew he was there. It was the only reason, Yugi would look so on edge. In an answer, Ryou threw a roll of parchment to him.

"That arrived about five minutes ago," he said. "Owl woke both of us up tapping on the window."

The window was still wide open, letting a cold draft into the room. Malik rummaged for clothes with one hand, and with the parchment with the other. He scanned it quickly and snorted.

"Man of few words isn't this Voldemort?" he said. "_Come to the pathway beyond the front gate. Bring your duel disks. Come alone_."

"I don't think it was Voldemort who sent that," Yugi said. "I think it was these two duellists he said he would be sending. He wouldn't waste time writing it himself."

"That and its written in Japanese," Ryou pointed out obviously.

"Mph…Yugi? Guys?" Harry rolled over in bed to find his dorm mates up and about, apparently preparing to go out. "What's going on?"

"Nothing Harry," Ryou said, being that Yugi and Malik were hurrying to find their language patches now that they both realised they were not wearing them. "Go back to bed."

"Are you going somewhere?" Harry asked, wide-awake now.

"There is someone near the castle using the magic of the Orichalcos," Yugi said shortly, buckling up his neck collar. Everyone jumped suddenly, as Malik gave a low hiss of pain. He had pulled a black t-shirt on, and his scars had flared up again. He did not like this at all. That dream was a little too real for his tastes. It was exactly like after the Dementor attack on the train at the beginning of term.

"Malik are you alright?" Ryou asked in alarm.

"Fine," Malik said. "It was nothing."

"Don't fib Ishtar," Bakura snapped, taking control. "It was your back wasn't it? We're not stupid."

"No, you're nosy," Malik corrected, pulling a jacket on and grabbing his duel disk. "Shouldn't we get moving?"

"Good idea," Yugi said, pulling his boots on. Harry shook his head.

"Are you all insane? You'll get caught! Did it not occur to you that this could be a trap?"

"Of course it occurred to us!" Bakura snapped at Harry. "Do you take us for complete morons? But these duellists aren't going to give up just because we don't show up. If we leave them too long, what's the stop them from charging into the castle and challenging us to an Orichalcos duel right in the middle of the Great Hall tomorrow morning? Now I'm all for destruction and chaos, but personally I'd rather not leave these people to stew overnight and make their magic more dangerous."

Harry swallowed. He had not thought about that. He eyed Bakura briefly. He still did not trust the spirits of the Items, and since his argument with Yugi in the common room few weeks ago, conversation with the King of Games had not been the same. Yugi was not unfriendly (Harry didn't think it was possible for the Japanese boy to be openly nasty to anyone) but he was exceedingly polite and formal to Harry, so Harry guessed he was still upset. But still, he wasn't going to let them charge off into danger alone. He began fumbling for his own clothes.

"Oh no you don't!" Malik said firmly. "You are staying right here Harry, that's an order!"

"You don't have the authority to boss me around," Harry said, more bravely than he felt.

"Don't make me seal your soul away just to keep you here!" Bakura threatened.

"What does that make you then?" Harry asked, poisonously. "Some kind of Death Eater?"

Bakura looked enraged, but Yugi stepped in, placing a hand on the thief's shoulder.

"We have no time!" he said. "Harry stay here. Its for your own safety."

"Look, you are not going out there without any kind of backup," Harry said firmly. "What if Voldemort's there?"

"We are not arguing over this!" Yugi said urgently. ""We have to go!"

"I'm ready," Malik said, stowing the rod into the belt of his jeans. "Let's hit the highroad."

"Are you guys even listening to me?" Harry demanded. "I'm coming with you!"

"Chained Energy!" Bakura barked. Thick silver energy ropes bound themselves around Harry's body, rendering him unable to move from his bed.

"Sorry Harry," Ryou said, taking his yami's place. "They'll be gone in about five minutes. Please don't try and follow us. It's for your own good."

With that, he followed his friends out of the room. Harry sighed, thinking over his options. He couldn't move from his bed for another five minutes (if Ryou was to be trusted), by which time the three of them would be long gone. He could track them on the Marauders map, but he couldn't reach it right now. He looked over at Ron's bed, from which his best friend's snores could be heard. He sighed shifting his arms to see if the bindings gave him any kind of leeway. After concluding that they didn't, he repressed a groan, realising he was going to have to do the impossible.

He was going to have to wake Ron Weasley, in the middle of the night, without chucking anything at him or over him.

This was going to be the longest five minutes ever…

OOO

"There's the gate," Yugi said, pointing at the winged boar statues that flanked the gateway to the school. He shivered, wrapping his jacket tighter around himself. As it was the middle of the night, it was still cold out. Next to him, Ryou was nervously looking around at the empty grounds. It felt far too quiet, for the school would normally be echoing with noise during the day. Right now it felt like they were trespassing on a graveyard or something equally sinister. Malik's narrowed eyes were squinting up the pathway beyond the gate.

"Looks like there's a reception already waiting for us," he pointed out. Sure enough, just beyond the gates, two short hooded figures were waiting for them.

"Well well well," said the first in a high pitched, almost buzzing voice. "The King of Games and his tagalongs have arrived. So nice of you to show up for our little appointment."

Everyone was quick to recognise that they were speaking Japanese. And they were even quicker to recognise the voice.

"Weevil Underwood!" Yami thundered, taking over from Yugi and glaring accusingly at the pair. "And I suppose your partner in crime is…"

"Me! Rex Raptor!" the second said, in a growling voice, throwing off his hood in time with Weevil. Sure enough, the two ex Japanese Regional Champions were facing them, cloaked, but easily recognisable.

"How did you escape from the hospital so easily?" Yami demanded. The last he had heard, Rex and Weevil had still been comatose in Domino City Hospital. While they had not been rendered soulless according to Bakura, no one had expected them to get up and move any time soon.

"Details details," Weevil waved the question off. "Let's just say it pays to be in the service of our master!"

"They're brainwashed again…" Malik said immediately. "Or whatever it was Voldemort did to them at the Regionals."

"I agree," Yami said. "Its like they're still aware, but their actions are being influenced."

"Stop muttering about us!" Rex barked. "We've been sent here to duel you! So let's get this over with!"

"You want to duel us?" Yami asked.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Bakura asked, rolling his eyes.

"Relax Pharaoh!" Weevil said, ignoring Bakura and focusing on Yami. "For once, we're under orders. We're to take out Ishtar and Bakura."

Malik's eyes widened and a challenging smirk crossed his face. "Sweet! I've always wanted to trample you two losers!"

"Take that back!" Weevil shrilled. Beside him, Rex growled in anger.

"Na-ah!" Malik said, grinning in an irritating fashion.

"Be careful you two," Yami warned. "If they're using the Seal…"

"Enough hints!" Weevil hissed, stepping forward and activating his duel disk. Rex moved a few meters away before doing the same, as Bakura and Malik took their places.

"Now we shouldn't have to explain the rules," Weevil said. "If we win we get your souls! And then we can move on to you Pharaoh!"

"Fine," Bakura snapped, before Yami could reply. "But since you're the ones who issued the challenge, we set the ruling system!"

"Hey! No fair!" Rex whined. "We want to set the rules!"

"You challenged us, so you let us call the shots!" Malik snapped back, guessing what Bakura was about to say. "And we say American tag team rules!"

Weevil and Rex exchanged irritated looks and Yami was mentally weighing up the pros and cons. American tag team rules would give Bakura and Malik their own fields, and the potential for more cards. It also meant that when one players points hit zero, the other team member could carry on without their respective partner, unlike Asian rules which stipulated that the teams had one pool of life points.

Yami could see that Weevil and Rex were having the same thoughts. Though it meant that Bakura and Malik wouldn't be confined to one field, American tag team also meant that they would have to clear out both Weevil and Rex in order to win, which would take longer. Both Weevil and Rex were selfish, and Yami knew that while they would tag team together, they wouldn't like the idea of their life points being tied to each other. Eventually Weevil nodded.

"Fine! American tag team rules it is!"

"Sweet!" Malik said, turning to smirk at Bakura, who looked just as confident. Yami settled off to one side, with Yugi hovering in spirit form next to him.

"Let's duel!" all four shouted.

OOO

Voldemort's attention caught. The bearers were about to duel his servants.

They were prompt, he had to give them that. And now he could test their skills to the fullest. He checked his spell was still in effect, granting him obedience from his servants, and smirked. The bearers were ripe for defeat.

He was a little irritated that he would have to wait to see exactly what was going on however. Though he could sense when his servants were about to duel, he would have to wait for the Seal to get onto the field. Then he could use his servants as focal points, and observe all the happenings.

Only a minor setback really. He could be patient…

There were some souls definitely worth waiting for.

OOO

"Since we issued the challenge," Weevil said, as everyone drew their opening hands. "I shall go first! Followed by Bakura. Then Rex. And then finally Ishtar."

"Bring it!" Malik shouted confidently. "_That means I get the first attack!" _he thought gleefully. Bakura's face remained expressionless.

/_Ryou…_/

/_I know_/ his hikari replied. /_We can beat them, Seal or no Seal. We have plenty of ways to get rid of it before it even touches the field_/

Bakura gave a mental nod as Weevil snapped a sixth card off his deck.

/_Please don't let them get the Seal in their first turn…_/ Yami prayed, but it seemed that luck was with them this time, as Weevil merely selected one card from his hand and placed it on his disk.

"I'll open with a monster in defence mode," the bug duellist announced. "That'll do for now."

"Boring!" Malik announced. Weevil glared at him.

"Save it for when we're actually winning Malik," Bakura advised, drawing a sixth card of his own. "I shall also set a monster, and a card facedown too. Your move Raptor!"

The cards appeared before him and Rex smirked as he drew.

"I'll start by special summoning Gilasaurus from my hand!" the boy announced, slamming a monster onto his duel disk. The dinosaur appeared before him, snarling at the two Item Bearers (1400/400).

"Excuse me?" Malik asked. "Did you say _special _summon?"

"Oh good, there's nothing wrong with your hearing," Rex snorted. "Yes I did say that. If Gilasaurus is in my hand, I can special summon it to the field."

Malik looked a little put out. "Well that sucks…"

/_No joke_/ Bakura thought. /_If he tributes it for a more powerful monster, we're going to be hard pressed, and it's only our first turn…/_

"And now I'll tribute him to summon Dark Driceratops!" Rex announced, and the smaller dinosaur vanished to be replaced by a larger, green dinosaur, which strangely enough, had a head of feathers and the beak of a bird (2400/1500).

"_That might be a problem…" _Malik thought to himself, as Rex ended his turn. The Egyptian drew his sixth card and studied his hand.

"_Okay it is definitely a problem," _he thought. "_ But I can at least do something about Weevil, and hopefully Bakura can do something about Rex."_

"I summon Revival Jam!" Malik announced, placing the card on his disk. Before him, the jelly-like blob appeared (1500/500), grinning at Rex's monster, as the duellist himself sweat dropped. Weevil burst out laughing.

"That is one of the most ridiculous looking monsters I've ever seen! And I've duelled Wheeler!"

"And lost," Malik reminded him. "Which is just what you'll do to us! Revival Jam, attack Weevil's defensive monster!"

Revival Jam launched itself at the facedown card, which flipped up to reveal Flying Kamakiri #1. Weevil giggled.

"Thank you very much Ishtar! Now I can select any…"

"Wind attribute monster with fifteen hundred attack or less and special summon it in face up attack mode," Malik rattled off from memory in a bored voice. "We know Weevil. Just get on with it. We'd all quite like to go back to bed soon."

Weevil twitched at being dismissed, but he did as he was told, summoning another Flying Kamakiri, which sat on the field, its wings buzzing (1400/900).

I'll set a facedown and end my turn," Malik finished.

Weevil drew and smirked.

"I summon Chainsaw Insect!"

Bakura and Malik gulped in unison as the huge roach with lethal looking pincers appeared (2400/0).

"That'll leave a mark…" Bakura muttered.

"Attack Ishtar's Revival Jam!" Weevil ordered. "Chainsaw Slice!"

Bakura looked hard at Malik's face, but he could tell from the scowl that the Tomb Keeper's facedown wasn't going to help him right now.

/_He'd better thank me for this_/ he thought irritably, before his facedown card flipped up. "I activate Waboku! Now our monsters, and our life points are safe for this turn!"

Weevil looked peeved, and Malik smirked suddenly, while swiping a card from his disk.

"Thanks Weevil! Since your monster did technically battle with mine, I get to draw one card. You're so generous!"

Hissing now, Weevil twisted the second monster card on his duel disk sideways. "I switch Kamakiri to defence mode, set two cards facedown and end my turn!"

Bakura quickly drew and selected three cards from his hand, throwing them facedown into spell and trap card zones.

"I'll set these facedown and flip summon my Morphing Jar!" As he spoke the card before him flipped up to reveal the black ceramic pot with the ghoulish face peering out of it. "Now we each ditch our hands and draw five new cards!"

On the sidelines, Yami was looking alarmed as each duellist folded his hand. /_What is he doing?! He's just going to make them draw the Seal quicker!_/

/_I agree, that was really reckless_/ Yugi said. /_I can't think of a reason why he would want them to draw the Seal…_/

/_I hope he knows what he's doing_/ Yami thought, quickly doing a sweep of the duellists. To his (and Yugi's) horror, Rex was looking triumphant.

"_He's drawn it," _both yami and hikari thought.

On the field, Bakura was having similar thoughts.

/_Rex has the Seal_/ he thought. /_Too bad Weevil didn't draw it as well, but I know just how to get rid of Rex's at least…and I drew just who I was waiting for in the meantime…_/

"I tribute my Jar to summon Diabound Colonel (1800/1200)!"

At the thief's command, the grey skinned fiend appeared. Rex and Weevil gulped slightly at the sight of the demonic looking creature, and Malik was smirking from ear to ear.

/_This might put Diabound at risk_/ Bakura thought.

/_But we need to clear out Weevil's monsters or he could summon something stronger_/ Ryou pointed out./_We can't afford to hold back_/

"Strike down his Kamakiri!" Bakura barked at his monster. "Helical Shockwave!"

Weevil barely flinched as the second insect exploded into bug guts. A green wasp hovered above the field a second later, its thin membranous wings letting out a low buzz.

"And Pheremone Wasp shall take its place," Weevil said casually. Bakura rolled his eyes.

"_Lovely_," he said sarcastically, as Diabound's scores readjusted themselves (1400/1200). "And before you ask," he added, seeing Weevil and Rex about to enquire. "Diabound takes on the attack of the monster it destroyed…whether I want it to or not…I'll end my turn."

"My move!" Rex said, yanking the card from his disk as quickly as he could.

/_Here it comes_/ Yugi winced, fully expecting the Seal to appear on the field.

"I chain to your draw phase Rex!" Bakura announced, one of his facedown cards lifting up. "Multiple Destruction!"

Rex blanched, and Yami and Yugi looked relieved.

/_That was what he was planning!_/ Yami thought. /_Now Rex has to discard the Seal before he can even use it!_/

"Now we ditch our hands again!" Bakura sounded utterly gleeful by this point. "And we draw five cards from our decks! Only this time there is a downside. I have to pay a hundred life points for each card I discarded, but it was well worth it!"

**Life Points**

Weevil: 8000

Bakura: 7600

Rex: 8000

Malik: 8000

Everyone dropped their hands again, Weevil and Rex looking disgusted, Malik and Bakura looking smug.

"Haha! You dropped a Seal!" Malik taunted as he redrew. Rex's eye began to twitch.

/_He'd better not get too confident_/ Yugi said nervously. /_After all, Weevil still has his copy somewhere in his deck_/

"I summon Sabersaurus!" Rex bellowed, as soon as he had his fresh hand. The smiles were wiped off Bakura and Malik's faces as the red skinned dinosaur appeared, growling and tossing its head, looking as though it would like nothing better than to gore the monsters on the opposite side of the field (1900/500).

"Dark Driceratops, stomp over his Diabound!" Rex ordered, and the green dinosaur snarled before pouncing towards Bakura's monster.

"Activate Spirit Shield!" Bakura yelled, a spectral barrier rising up before his monster. At the same time, Bakura's Earthbound Spirit slid from the graveyard and he shoved it into the pocket of his trench coat. Rex's dinosaur landed back on its owners side of the field, looking remarkably dazed from its headlong collision.

"Argh fine!" Rex snarled, turning to his second monster. "Sabersaurus, attack Revival Jam with Sabre Charge!"

This time, Malik did not have anything to stop the attack, and he winced as his monster was gored, and splattered into a liquefied mess on the ground before vanishing.

**Life Points**

Weevil: 8000

Bakura: 7600

Rex: 8000

Malik: 7600

"I end my turn!" Rex said. "Let's see what you've got."

"I've got plenty!" Malik snapped, drawing, taking Revival Jam's card from the graveyard and setting it back onto his duel disk. "I'll pay a thousand life points to special summon Revival Jam from the graveyard!"

**Life Points**

Weevil: 8000

Bakura: 7600

Rex: 8000

Malik: 6600

The blue blob of jelly reappeared, grinning lopsidedly at Weevil and Rex.

"Hey!" Rex whined. "I already blasted that thing!"

"Little thing to know about my monsters boys," Malik said. "They don't die…well, not that easily at any rate."

He quickly studied his hand before waving at his facedown card.

"I activate Call of the Haunted, bringing back a monster I had to drop with Morphing Jar!" He gave Bakura a nod in thanks. "Bug boy, Dino dork, meet Vampire Lord!"

Beside Revival Jam appeared the human looking figure, his purple cape swishing around him. As his gaze settle on Weevil and Rex, he gave them a toothy grin, causing both boys to shriek in fright (2000/1500).

"Aww that's not very nice!" Malik said. "I happen to like this guy!"

"_Yeah because he's a present from your sister and brother…"_ Bakura thought with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh well," Malik grinned. "I guess I'll have to make you guys like him! But first, I'm going to tribute Revival Jam to summon my Legendary Fiend!"

Revival Jam exploded into jelly again, and the shape reformed into a muscular fiend with blue skin, black wings, and demonic looking claws (1500/1800).

/_I wonder whose monsters will scare them first_/ Yami thought idly. /_Bakura's or Malik's?_/

/_My money's on Bakura_/ Yugi said. /_We know the whole point of his deck is to scare people. Malik has a different agenda with his deck_/

/_To keep them alive_/ Yami agreed. /_You could be right Yugi. But it shall be amusing to see how long Rex and Weevil last before they wet themselves…_/

He was smirking at this idea, but Yugi and Yami both had a simultaneous thought.

"_If the Seal doesn't get them first…"_

OOO

"That was my foot!" Harry hissed.

"Well it's not my fault we're walking like this!" Ron retorted.

"Our feet will show if we don't!"

Ron grumbled some more, but Harry was not paying attention. His attention was fixed solely on the Marauders Map, on the dots beside the front gate. The dots representing their three fellow Gryffindors were visible, along with two more dots that Harry had never seen before but he knew from the gossip surrounding their friends. He wasn't too worried though. He had heard Malik describe Weevil and Rex as being "more annoying than a mosquito bite and twice as offending to look at", so presumably they weren't much to be concerned about.

Still…he couldn't help being worried where the Orichalcos was involved…he only hoped that no one would lose their soul in this duel.

OOO

"Legendary Fiend, attack Pheremone Wasp!" Malik shouted. The fiend growled menacingly before pouncing towards the insect.

"Ah ah ah!" Weevil taunted, hitting a button on his duel disk. His trap card rose. "I activate a trap. Mimisis!"

"And what does that do?" Malik asked.

"Simple!" Weevil said. "Pheremone Wasp returns to my hand…"

As he spoke the green wasp vanished and Weevil removed the card from his disk and added it back to his hand, before selecting another card and placing it in the spot where the previous card had been.

"And I get to replace it with another insect…like my good friend Pinch Hopper!"

The new monster looked nothing more nor less than an oversized green grasshopper (1000/1200).

"Whatever," Malik shrugged. "Legendary Fiend will still turn it into bug guts! Attack!"

The fiend pounced on the defending insect, leaving a sticky pool of purple slime where it had been standing. Legendary Fiend looked completely unconcerned by the mess, however it did look worried when the puddle began to bubble and a new shape rose out of it.

"Thanks Ishtar!" Weevil giggled. "Now thanks to Pinch Hopper's departure, I can special summon another Insect type monster from my hand!"

"More weak bugs?" Malik asked, with a yawn in his voice.

"Weak?" Weevil asked. "Oh this one is far from weak! Let's give a warm welcome to Insect Queen!"

Yami's eyes widened on the sidelines, as the huge arachnid appeared, screeching loudly at the prospect of her next meal (2200/2400). Her massive body dragged across the ground, swollen with what appeared to be hunger, and as she observed Chainsaw Insect still on the field, she began to drool (2600/2400).

"Eww!" Malik stated, pulling a face.

"Stunned by her incredible beauty?" Weevil asked smugly.

"No," Malik said. "I was thanking Ra I didn't have any food in my stomach to lose."

Bakura snorted, and Weevil looked incensed.

"But either way," Malik said. "I'm still making my move! Vampire Lord, drive Sabersaurus to extinction! Children of the Night!"

The vampire grinned gleefully and threw open his cloak, sending a swarm of bats toward the dinosaur, who tried desperately to fend them off before vanishing into pixels of light.

**Life Points**

Weevil: 8000

Bakura: 7600

Rex: 7900

Malik: 6600

"Now Rex, old buddy!" Malik beamed. "Vampire Lord's effect says you have to ditch a card of my choice from your deck to your graveyard. And I want you to toss a spell card, if you please!"

Growling in irritation (from a combination of Malik's patronising tone and what he was making him do), Rex selected a spell from his already depleted deck (Tail Swipe) and shoved it in his graveyard.

"I'll set a card facedown," Malik continued. "And end my turn." He turned to Weevil. "Your move bug brain!"

Weevil glared as he drew. Yami and Yugi held their breath…and released it with a thankful sigh as Weevil's face registered disappointment. No Seal of Orichalcos yet.

"I summon Skull-Mark Ladybug!" Weevil said, and on his side of the field appeared a black ladybug with a skull printed on its shell instead of spots. Insect Queen drooled even more, a large puddle collecting at her feet (2800/2400).

"Now Insect Queen, swallow that Ladybug and attack Vampire Lord!" Weevil said, pointing at the offending monster. Insect Queen fell on the poor Skull-Mark Ladybug, ripping through the shell and soft innards. Malik and his monsters looked ill, and even Bakura was struggling not to show how disgusted he was.

**Life Points**

Weevil: 9000

Bakura: 7600

Rex: 7900

Malik: 6600

"Hey!" Malik snapped suddenly. "How did your life points go up Weevil?!"

"Easy!" Weevil snickered. "When Skull-Mark Ladybug goes to the Graveyard, I gain a thousand life points!"

"Oh…that sucks," Malik muttered, as Insect Queen finished her meal (2600/2400) and advanced on the frightened looking Vampire Lord. "Ooops better save him!" Malik said suddenly, realising that he had been distracted at the wrong moment. "Go Negate Attack!"

The giant Queen was impeded by what appeared to be a huge invisible wall. She looked dazed and screeched in anger at being deprived of her meal. Vampire Lord meanwhile, was wiping sweat from his brow.

"Gah!" Weevil snapped. "Fine! I'll set a card facedown and end my turn!"

"My move then," Bakura declared, drawing and smirking at his card. "I activate Spirit Illusion! Doppelganger Diabound, arise!"

Next to Bakura's Ka appeared a copy, exactly the same in every way, including stats.

"Oooh I love it when he does this!" Malik smirked.

"I'm glad you approve so Malik!" Bakura grinned. "Doppelganger, attack that Insect Queen!"

"What are you doing?!" Weevil screeched, as the copy dissolved into a ghostlike state and sank into the body of Insect Queen, who screamed as her points suddenly plummeted (1200/2400). "What did you do to my beautiful Queen?!"

"Oh not a lot," Bakura said casually. "Just cut her points down with my token's special ability! Now Diabound, finish her off with Helical Shockwave!"

The fiend cupped its hands once more and waves of energy pulsed at the Queen, who screeched again and exploded, sending bug guts all over the field. Weevil was screaming too.

**Life Points**

Weevil: 8800

Bakura: 7600

Rex: 7900

Malik: 6600

"Now that was beauty, right there!" Bakura said. "Her Majesty exploding like that!"

"ARE YOU FINISHED?!" Weevil asked shrilly, taking a quick note of Diabound's newly readjusted score (2200/1200) thanks to Insect Queen's destruction.

"Hang on," Bakura said, setting another card facedown alongside, his other facedown card, Spirit Illusion and Spirit Shield. "_Now_ I am finished. Knock yourself out Raptor," he invited.

Rex drew and studied his hand for a minute before setting another card facedown.

"Dark Driceratops, attack Vampire Lord!"

Malik winced, knowing he was out of ways of protecting his monster. Bakura however, was ahead of him.

"Activate Call of the Earthbound!" the card he had set the previous turn rose up, and a ghostly arm extended from the ground, causing Weevil to shriek in fear, and Rex to jump back a few paces, as Dark Driceratops paused in confusion.

"This trap lets me chose your monsters target," Bakura said. "And I do believe I'd like Dark Driceratops to attack my Diabound, if it will."

The dinosaur seemed all to pleased to, and promptly swung around and charged at the fiend instead. It promptly slammed into the invisible Spirit Shield however, and Bakura pocketed Disgraced Mage.

"And Spirit Shield protects Diabound from harm!" the thief said gleefully, as Dark Driceratops wobbled back to Rex's side of the field, unsteadily after running into the barrier.

"Thanks Bakura!" Malik said.

"You're welcome," Bakura said. "I rather got a kick out of watching that!"

"Shut up!" Rex barked. "I end my turn!"

"Here I go!" Malik said, drawing. Rex's shout interrupted.

"I activate Dust Tornado! Say goodbye to that Spirit Shield of yours Bakura!"

The trap card lifted and Bakura's active trap suddenly shattered as it was bombarded by a small tornado.

"Shit," Bakura muttered.

"You couldn't be more right!" Rex laughed. "Next turn around, my dinosaurs will walk all over the pair of you!"

"Hello!" Malik said loudly. "_My _turn right now, not yours Rex! And since it's my Standby Phase…"

He trailed off as Legendary Fiend gave a vicious snarl and its attack points suddenly leaped up (2200/1800).

"Hey! Why did your monster get more points?!" Rex barked.

"It's called a special ability, Genius," Malik said. "Legendary Fiend gains an additional 700 attack points each time one of my Standby Phases comes around!"

Rex looked nervously at the fiend, who's muscular form seemed to have got much bigger and more powerful looking in the space of the last five seconds.

"Now let me see…" Malik said, selecting another card. "Let's pump him up some more, shall we? I equip Legendary Fiend with United We Stand!"

Rex and Weevil both screeched, this time in unison as Legendary Fiend began to grow even larger and more powerful looking (3800/3400).

"Now let's see if you boys can do math," Malik grinned. "For every monster on my side of the field, Legendary Fiend gains 800 attack and defence points. But while you're working that out, I'll play another spell. I activate Overpowering Eye!"

Bakura raised an interested eyebrow, as did Yami and Yugi. They had never seen this card in action before.

"What does that do?" Weevil stuttered.

"Simple!" Malik grinned. "For one turn, it gives one of my Zombie-type monsters with two thousand attack points or less the power to attack directly…like, I don't know…my Vampire Lord maybe?"

The vampire gave Rex a bloodthirsty grin, its eyes turning a glowing crimson, and the dinosaur duellist's face drained of colour.

"Now, Legendary Fiend, attack Weevil's Chainsaw Insect!" Malik commanded, and the fiend gave a roar before seizing the bug in its clawed hands and ripping it apart.

"And since they battled, I get to draw another card!" Malik announced. "Now Vampire Lord, attack Rex directly!"

The vampire nodded, leaping deftly over Dark Driceratops and vanishing in a cloud of black smoke. Rex looked nervously around, not noticing as Vampire Lord reappeared right behind him, and released another swarm of bats, which latched onto Rex's back and shoulders and began to bite viciously.

**Life Points**

Weevil: 7400

Bakura: 7600

Rex: 5900

Malik: 6600

"Alright that's enough!" Malik commanded, as Rex's shrieking began to grate on everyone's ears. The bats vanished, and Vampire Lord returned to his master's side of the field with a smug grin plastered onto his face. Rex was still brushing his shoulders as though he could still feel the teeth and claws biting into his skin.

"Now don't forget Vampire Lord's ability!" Malik reminded. "Ditch another spell card, will you Rex?"

Rex did as he was told, shoving a copy of Ultra Evolution Pill into his graveyard.

"I think I've embarrassed you enough," Malik grinned. "Your move Underpants!"

Weevil's eye was twitching violently as he drew. After a disdainful look at his hand, he threw a spell card into a slot on his duel disk.

"I activate Magical Mallet!" he said. "I'll send all four cards in my hand back to my deck, reshuffle and redraw!"

He did so. Apparently unconcerned, Malik repressed a yawn, and Bakura tapped his foot impatiently as the bug duellist drew four new cards and examined them. On cue, the twitch in his eye stopped and a malicious giggle replaced it. Yami felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up at the noise, and Bakura and Malik were looking torn between bewildered and nervous.

"Does the giggling have a point?" Bakura asked harshly. "Or are you just hoping you'll burst our eardrums to win this duel?"

Weevil's giggling died down, and he fixed Bakura and Malik with a creepy grin instead. Behind his glasses his eyes were gleaming.

"Not your ears, no." he said. "But with this card I don't need to damage your ears…because I'll be damaging your soul!"

"_NO!" _Yami and Yugi thought in unison, as the field slot on Weevil's duel disk slid open and he inserted one of the cards he had just drawn.

"I activate the Seal of Orichalcos!"

The green light exploded out of his duel disk, the Seal expanding across the field, knocking Yami over and away from his friends. Black shadowy flames surrounded both Weevil and Rex, and when they died down, the Seal was branded into their foreheads. Rex pulled back his hat so it could be seen properly, and behind his glasses, Weevil's eyes had turned a pinkish red colour. On the field, Rex's Dark Driceratops gave a roar and its eyes turned red to match that of its master (2900/1500).

/_We're in trouble…_/ Bakura thought grimly.

/_This feels…horrible_/ Ryou muttered back. It was true. They had been in the Seal before of course, during the Death Eater attack on Domino Park, but actually duelling inside it was ten times worse. In his soul room, Ryou felt ill.

/_We'll be fine hikari_/ Bakura though, sending a wave of reassurance down the link without even thinking. /_There's no way these idiots are going to beat us, even if they have drawn the Seal_/

Inside though, he was just as nervous as Ryou.

"Heeheehee!" Weevil giggled, but there was a darker tone to the sound now. "Alright where was I? Ah yes…I shall send my two facedown cards to the graveyard…"

The aforementioned facedown cards (Call of the Haunted and Infestation) vanished from Weevil's spell/trap card zones, and instead there stood what appeared to be a giant ant, its pitch black body projecting an air of menace, which only increased as the Seal branded itself onto its forehead (2500/500).

"Say hello to my Anteatereatingant!" Weevil proudly screeched.

"That's a mouthful," Bakura managed to splutter.

"That's even uglier than your last bug!" Malik declared.

"Show some respect!" Weevil barked.

"Why?" Bakura shrugged. "He's got a point…"

Weevil's face went red. "Oh that does it! Anteatereatingant, attack his Diabound and show him some respect for the insect kingdom!"

Bakura's swearing could be heard even through the sound of the insect ripping the fiend to shreds with its pincers. At the same time, Spirit Illusion and the copy of Diabound exploded too. In his soul room, Ryou was feeling ill.

**Life Points**

Weevil: 7400

Bakura: 7300

Rex: 5900

Malik: 6600

"Heehee! I end my turn!" Weevil screeched. "Better make this count Bakura!"

Scowling darkly in a way that would have made sane, non-Orichalcos using people tremble, Bakura drew. His eyebrow raising was the only indication he gave as to what he had just drawn.

/_Well well…this could definitely help…_/

/_Even the Orichalcos can't stop this card!_/ Ryou said excitedly. /_We just need to keep it on the field for long enough…_/

"I'll set a card facedown, and place a monster in defence mode," Bakura announced aloud. The cards appeared and Bakura waved at Rex.

"That's the best you can do?" Rex asked. "Pathetic…" he drew and a smirk crossed his face.

"Oh you're not going to do the evil laughter too?" Malik groaned. "It gets really boring."

Rex glared. "You won't be so confident in a minute Ishtar! I play Lightning Vortex!"

As he spoke, he plugged the spell into his duel disk and threw another card into his graveyard, and bolts of lightning suddenly flew from the heavens, striking Vampire Lord and Legendary Fiend, both whom screamed as they were vaporised. Bakura felt himself start to sweat. Though his monster had been spared as it was facedown, Malik now had no monsters on the field. Malik himself held his tongue in check, but it was clear what was running through his mind…it involved swearing.

"Speechless?" Rex chortled. "You haven't seen the worst! I play a card I believe you're very fond of Ishtar…Monster Reborn!"

The holy ankh appeared above his head and from the light appeared a huge tyrannosaurus rex, with pitch black skin and saliva dripping from its rows of sharp lethal looking teeth. It roared at the two Item bearers, who gulped as its stats increased from the power of the Orichalcos (3100/1800).

"Meet a monster you made me discard earlier," Rex said. "Black Tyranno!"

/_Crap_/ Bakura muttered. /_My Morphing Jar and Multiple Destruction actually helped him in this case…_/

/_And Malik is wide open!_/ Ryou fretted.

"Now let's even the playing field a bit!" Rex barked. "Dark Driceratops and Black Tyranno, stomp over Ishtar's life points!"

Malik tried to get a firm grip on the ground, but there was nothing to be offered as Dark Driceratops charged at him and sent him crashing to his knees, pain lacing through his body. Almost immediately, Black Tyranno's tail followed, swiping against the fallen Egyptian, flinging him backwards against the barrier of the Seal. He slumped onto his knees, before pitching forwards face first into the ground. His breathing was irregular, as though it cost him effort to maintain.

**Life Points**

Weevil: 7400

Bakura: 7300

Rex: 5900

Malik: 600

"Malik!" Yugi screamed, taking over his body in terror and banging his fists desperately against the barrier. He knew that kind of attack in an Orichalcos duel would have been more painful than anything his friend had ever experienced, and his fear rose to new levels as he realised that Malik was making no move to get up. Next to the fallen duellist, Bakura looked ready to blow his top.

"You are going to pay for that!" he exploded at their opponents.

"And who's going to make us?" Weevil asked, barely containing his look of sadistic glee. "You? Because your friend certainly doesn't look in a fit state!"

Next to him, Rex chortled, the Seal on his forehead giving him the look of a demented lunatic. Bakura's ground his teeth, before taking a step toward Malik's comatose form.

"Hold it right there!" Rex said firmly. "You can't make contact with your partner until this duel is over!"

"Fuck," Bakura grunted, taking a look at the Seal that hovered around them ominously. He somehow doubted that the Orichalcos would be any more lenient towards rule breaking than the Shadows were.

"Come on Malik! On your feet!"

"He's not going anywhere!" Weevil said gleefully. "And if he doesn't get up before his next turn then you automatically forfeit the match and the Seal takes both your souls!"

OOO

Malik felt as though all three Egyptian Gods were duelling in his skull. He coughed as he breathed in and something irritated his throat. It tasted familiar, and as Malik tried to raise his head, he realised the offending substance was sticking to his face.

The room was full of sand, and was warm, but not uncomfortably so. The sky stretched out high above Malik, giving the illusion of wide open space and freedom. A stack of cushions were piled up on the corner, along with a stack of magazines and what looked like a motorcycle instruction manual. Straight down the centre of the room was small river. Malik frowned at the opposite bank. It was dark and shrouded in a faint layer of shadow, which obscured most of it from view. Even the sand looked a shade or two darker than the stuff on his side.

"Hold on a second," Malik said to himself, finally understanding. "This is my soul room…but what the hell am I doing in here?"

Everything was fuzzy, like trying to work out an image through frosted glass. He took a few deep breaths and tried to make sense of everything around him. He was in his soul room – he definitely realised that now. There was nowhere else this could be. How he had got here he had no idea. He had to find out.

Now that he knew where he was, the river made perfect sense. He guessed that when Marik had inhabited his mind, the spirit had been present on that side of the river. But now that the yami was gone, the bank was deserted. Unlike Yugi and Ryou, who had separate soul rooms from their other halves, Malik guessed that because Marik was not an entity in his own right as Yami and Bakura were, he had shared a soul room with him.

"My mind is one fucked up place…" Malik concluded, as he got to his feet.

"_Of course it is…_" came a harsh voice that caused Malik to pale and look around wildly. "_It was your mind that spawned me did it not?"_

Malik felt like his brain was on fast forward. This couldn't be…it was too much on top of everything that had happened. He slumped back onto the sand.

"No…no…it can't be you!"

"_Of course it can_," the voice replied. "_This is your mind hikari, so it very well can be!"_

"But you're gone!" Malik said desperately. "I banished you at the end of Battle City!"

"_Oh that you did_," Marik replied bitterly. His voice sounded very distant and almost…dare Malik say…weak?

"So how are you here now?"

"_Oh I'm not really 'here' in any sense of the word,"_ the psychotic yami confirmed. "_I'm still very much trapped in the Shadow Realm in the throes of my own Penalty Game. However I'm still linked, however tenuously to your mind. And you're unconscious and in your soul room right now, which makes communicating all the easier. See on the other side of the river?"_

Malik squinted to the other side of his soul room. Sure enough, on the other side of the shrouded water, was a purplish black sarcophagus, which was bound with thick chains. He guessed that was supposed to represent the bound spirit trapped in the Shadows.

"Oh…" he said stupidly.

"_That sarcophagus represents the portion of your mind that has been sealed away_," Marik replied in a blunt, matter-of-fact tone. "_That portion being me of course. Left to rot in the corner like a discarded mummy in a museum case."_

Malik however was still trying to piece together everything that had happened to him. He had been duelling…and then he had been attacked with six thousand points worth of damage. And then that pain…he shuddered. So the Orichalcos had somehow knocked him into his soul room. But what was his body doing right now? He guessed he was unconscious, as he could not pick up any sense of the outside world.

"How did I get here?" he asked aloud. "Did you bring me here when I was knocked out?"

There was a snort from…wherever it was Marik's voice was coming from.

"_Oh please hikari, you banished me, remember? I'm as far removed from your mind as I can be whilst still retaining a link to it. I might still have a way to communicate…however weak and fragile, but I cannot see what's been going on in the real world. How would I possibly be able to bring you here of my own free will?"_

Malik's shoulders slumped.

"_Although…" _the dark voice sounded curious now_. "Now that you've asked. Knocked out did you say? So I take it you are in some kind of trouble hikari? I'm guessing with dark magic of some kind, as nothing else could be strong enough to knock you into your soul room of its own will. So you're still messing around with powerful magic while I am gone? I'm pleased I taught you well…but you know hikari, if you're in trouble now…if you were to just paddle over the river and release the chains on the sarcophagus, I could give you a hand…"_

"Like hell I'm letting you within ten miles of my mind!" Malik cut off fiercely, getting to his feet. He had been here far too long. He had to get back to the duel. There was a pause before Marik spoke again. He seemed to have been choosing his next words carefully.

"_You need me hikari_." It was a statement, not a question.

"You wish," Malik snorted, but the statement made him nervous, and he scanned the room, intending to find a way out of there with all due speed.

"_You need me_," Marik repeated calmly. "_I was right y'know_."

Malik winced, the memory of the last time he had heard his dark flash though his mind.

"_If you do this, you'll be sorry! You need me!"_

Malik shook his head to dispel the images.

"No! You're lying! I never needed you!"

There was a dark chuckle from Marik.

"_Oh? So why the snappy response…unless. You've been missing me haven't you_?"

The yami's voice was low and slightly gloating. He couldn't twist Malik's arm though. The hikari knew that Marik would stop at nothing to be free again, and he was the only one who had that power. He could not give him that chance.

"_You _could_ give me the chance_," Marik said, and Malik cursed the connection between them, now stronger with him in his soul room. He'd never be able to keep his thoughts private in here.

"_You could set me free hikari. That is what I want, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Isn't freedom what you wanted all those years in the Tomb? That's what I want too. Who are you to deny me the chance to walk in the light_?"

Malik swallowed the lump in his throat. He did not like where this conversation was going, mostly because Marik had struck a nerve with his last point (and the smug bastard knew it too!).

"_C'mon hikari_," Marik enticed. "_You know you need me. The light needs the dark. You're incomplete without me_."

The last line was barely a whisper, but it echoed in Malik's ears like it had been shouted from across a duelling field.

"_Just cross the river,"_ Marik said in a tempting voice. "_Just cross it and open the sarcophagus. Release the chains and let me out. I'll be free just like you, and you will be strong again…"_

Again…the last time he had been strong, no one had messed with him. Nothing had stood in his way. He had been free to do whatever he wanted. If he was strong again…

Malik stopped as he felt icy needles in his foot. He had barely noticed that he had stepped into the water. It was freezing, as though trying to ward him away.

"Again…" he muttered.

"_Yes…"_ the dark voice whispered, words laced in anticipation. "_Strong again, my hikari. You will be powerful. No one will harm you again…"_

The water lapped at his ankles.

"But…" the hikari raised his head toward the sky of his soul room. "I've always been strong."

Could he have fought off a boggart of his yami if he were that weak? Would he have lasted this long in the duel against the Orichalcos? Would he have been the first to conjure a patronus out of all his friends?

His friends…Yugi, Ryou…His siblings. He was strong enough to protect them. But they would never last against his yami. He was the only one who could control him. He would protect them. He would protect them with every bit of magic and might he possessed. And to do that, he had to keep Marik away from them.

"Malik! Please get up!"

It was faint and very very distant. Malik stumbled backwards out of the river and looked around for the sound. That was Yugi's voice!

"Ishtar! I am not fighting this duel alone! So you damn well better get up before I kill you myself!"

And that was definitely Bakura! Never one to make others think that he might just care. He could hear Marik hissing above his head, clearly angry at the intrusion. Malik smiled.

"Y'know what Yami," he said, finally addressing his darker half by his title for the first time. "It's been fun, but I think I've hung around in here long enough."

"Don't be an idiot!" the dark entity hissed. "You know you need me!"

"No I don't," Malik said firmly. "You might still be linked to my mind, but I don't need you to survive. I can protect myself, and I can protect my friends. And how can I do that if I'm weak? So thanks for the offer, but I have a duel to win."

And focusing hard on his friend's voices, he pulled himself out of his soul room and back into reality.

OOO

"Malik!"

/_Gods protect him…_/

"Ishtar, get up this minute!"

/_Please let him wake up…please…_/

Noise assaulted Malik's aching body as his eyes flickered open. He was lying with his face in the dirt, his duel disk pressed uncomfortably into his hip. Breathing hurt and his back was aching as he tried to rise. He gave a groan of pain.

"Malik?" Yugi's voice was bordering on shrill, but he let out a small relieved sigh as Malik managed to raise his head.

"It's not possible!" Weevil screeched. "He shouldn't be able to get up from that?!"

"You know...me and my monsters," Malik rasped out as he pushed himself slowly to his knees. "We don't stay down for long…"

/_Thank God!_/ Ryou was almost crying in relief in his soul room.

"Damn it Malik! Don't freak us out like that!" Bakura burst out, before regaining control of his emotions and adding gruffly. "You had the hikari's worried."

"It doesn't matter!" Rex waved a hand dismissively. "You're still down to triple digits Ishtar! Next turn Weevil can take you out, and I can finish off Bakura! Your souls will be our Master's before long!"

"Why are you doing this anyway?" Yugi asked, thinking to buy Malik some more time to recover. "Didn't you learn your lesson last time you teamed up with the Orichalcos?"

Strangely, Rex and Weevil were both silent for about ten seconds, gazing off into the distance. They looked, Yugi realised, like robots accessing information from their databanks. Eventually Weevil snickered.

"Power little Yugi! Dartz was an idiot who used us! This time, we have what we want! The chance to beat you and your little friends!"

/_No doubt about it_/ Yami thought. /_Voldemort might not be controlling them completely, but he's influencing their actions – specifically their anger and hatred of us_/

"You're both delusional," Malik said, still struggling to catch his breath, but at least he was on his feet again. "And Rex, its still your turn I think."

Rex scowled as he realised Malik was right. He waved his hand, and as he did, Bakura quickly punched a button on his duel disk.

"Activate Destiny Board!"

The trap card lifted and Weevil and Rex's expressions turned to worried ones as the sinister Ouija board appeared. Bakura meanwhile took another card from his duel disk and set it next to his trap in one of his empty spell and trap zones. Above his head the ghostly letters "F" and "I" appeared.

"Heh, even your precious Seal of Orichalcos can't stop my spirits from spelling out your defeat!" Bakura taunted.

"It can't," Rex said suddenly. "But in case you've forgotten, you still have a facedown card on the field Bakura! Unless you can get rid of that you won't have enough room to finish the message!"

Bakura looked down at the offending card. It was Contract with the Dark Master. He had set it earlier to save it from Morphing Jar, and he was beginning to regret this, as he realised that Rex was right. Unless he could get rid of it, or use it up he wouldn't have enough room for all the Spirit Messages. And as of yet, he hadn't drawn Dark Master – Zorc.

/_We'll get it_/ Ryou soothed. /_Just focus on keeping alive long enough to finish Destiny Board_/

"My move…" Malik muttered, drawing from his deck.

"_Give me something good…_" he begged mentally, before checking the card and examining his hand. As he did, a swarm of bats reappeared and Vampire Lord emerged back on the field, shielding himself with his cape, his eyes trained on Rex in a manner that promised pain.

"Hey! Where did that freak come from?!" Rex demanded. Malik glared at him.

"Don't insult my Vampire Lord!" he snapped. "And as for where he came from, he came from the graveyard. When you send him there by card effect he comes back in my next Standby Phase. Tough luck, because now he's back in defence mode."

He took the card he had just drawn and plugged it into his disk.

"I activate Pot of Greed, letting me draw two more cards!"

He pulled the aforementioned cards from his deck. Though his face didn't show it, he relaxed internally.

"_This'll __give'em a sh__ock," _he thought.

"I'll set two cards facedown and a monster in defence mode," he reported. Vampire Lord didn't move as the three cards joined him on the field, and Malik waved Weevil on.

The bug duellist was having a minor dilemma as he drew his card. While it was tempting to attack Malik and leave him wide open for Rex, he also had two facedowns. Weevil wasn't stupid enough to risk that. And besides, he wouldn't admit it aloud, but Destiny Board was scaring him.

"Anteatereatingant, attack Bakura's facedown monster!"

The bug did as requested, but Malik just smirked and punched a button on his duel disk.

"Look familiar Weevil?" he asked, as the holy barrier of Mirror Force sprung up in front of their side of the field, causing Anteatereatingant to explode into bug guts, which slammed into Black Tyranno and Dark Driceratops, causing them to vanish too.

"I HATE that trap!" Weevil screamed loudly. Bakura was wiping sweat from his brow.

"Thanks Malik…" he said.

"Hey, you've saved my butt," Malik pointed out. "I thought I should repay you."

Weevil was still seething as he took two more cards from his hand and shoved them brutally into his duel disk.

"I set a card facedown and activate Insect Barrier! Now go already Bakura!"

Bakura and Malik exchanged looks.

"_DNA Surgery,"_ they both thought simultaneously.

"Don't forget Destiny Board!" Bakura said quickly, as above his head, another letter was selected on the board, and another ghostly image appeared. He quickly placed Spirit Message "N" in his disk, and drew. A grin spread across his face.

"I remove Diabound Colonel, Doomcalibre Knight and the Earl of Demise from my graveyard to special summon Dark Necrofear (2200/2800)!"

The ghostly images of the three monster appeared as Bakura pocketed their cards, and in their place appeared the terrifying form of Dark Necrofear, who narrowed her eyes at Rex and Weevil, both whom were trembling at this moment.

"Dark Necrofear, pay Raptor back for that shot he took to Malik earlier!" Bakura barked. "Doomed to Death Gaze!"

The fiend's eyes narrowed further until beams of light shot from them and collided with Rex's stomach. He staggered over, clutching where he had been struck.

**Life Points**

Weevil: 7400

Bakura: 7300

Rex: 3700

Malik: 600

"I end my turn!" Bakura declared.

/_Let's see them wrestle this darkness_/ the thief thought.

/_Too bad we can't use Dark Sanctuary with the Seal out_/ Ryou thought. /_And if we plan on completing Destiny Board we can't use Dark Necrofear's other effect either_/

/_And still no sign of Dark Master – Zorc_/ Bakura grumbled, glaring at Contract With the Dark Master, which still lay facedown on the field.

Rex meanwhile had recovered enough to draw his next card. He looked worriedly at the four cards he had available. Polymerization, Ultimate Tyranno, Fossil Excavation and Jurassic World, only one of which would be any use to him right now. He quickly pointed at the one card left on his field, the facedown he had had out since his first turn.

"I activate Survival Instinct!" as he spoke this his trap lifted and he quickly took six cards from his discard slot and pocketed them.

"I remove Gilasaurus, Chitoptera, Black Stego, Sabersaurus, Kabazauls and Dark Driceratops from play, and thanks to my trap I gain four hundred life points for each one!"

**Life Points**

Weevil: 7400

Bakura: 7300

Rex: 6100

Malik: 600

"_Crap, just when I thought we might have him on the run…"_ Malik thought bitterly.

"I set one card facedown and end my turn!" Rex declared, and as he did, Bakura shoved another spell in his duel disk, and another letter joined the ghostly spirits above his head.

""F" "I" "N" "A"" Bakura read out, with a smirk on his face. "Better start praying for a miracle you two!"

/_Providing I can get rid of this stupid spell card_/ he thought irritably.

"My move!" Malik said, drawing. At the same time, Rex interrupted, his trap card lifting.

"I activate Fossil Excavation!" He threw Jurassic World into his discard slot, and on the field before him appeared Black Tyranno once more, looking equally bloodthirsty as it had before.

"Oh crap…" Malik muttered in an exasperated tone. "And I thought my monsters specialty was reviving themselves…"

He quickly looked at what he had just drawn and a smile crossed his face.

"_On the other hand…"_

"I flip summon Magician of Faith!" Malik announced, and the monster he had set the previous turn appeared in the form of a pretty young mage in purple robes, carrying a staff with a crescent moon on the end of it.

Yami glanced sideways at Yugi (who was still in control of the body) and chuckled as he heard his Aibou give a small sigh at the sight of the monster. He knew just what (or rather, _who)_ Yugi thought of when he saw that monster.

"Thanks to her effect I get one spell card back from my grave," Malik said. "And I think United We Stand will do just fine."

Bakura smirked to himself. /_Oooh this will really sting!_/

"But why stop there?" Malik asked gleefully. "I activate Double Spell, discarding Foolish Burial to duplicate the effect of a spell in your graveyard Rex!" he threw the aforementioned spell into his graveyard with a smile. "And since you're correct in thinking that I'm very fond of Monster Reborn, why don't we take that for a spin! I'll bring back Sangan from my graveyard!"

The small three eyed fiend appeared next to Magician of Faith, and both of them were immediately swallowed by more light.

"And now I'll tribute both my monsters!" Malik said, taking another card from his hand. "To summon my most powerful creature!"

From the light appeared a monster that made everyone gasp. It was a beautiful golden dragon, slimmer in design than the Winged Dragon of Ra, but no less impressive. Its skeletal looking wings spread out into the air and it gave a mighty roar (2800/2800).

"Meet Felgrand Dragon!" Malik said proudly.

"Holy Gods Ishtar!" Bakura spluttered. "When did you get _that _monster?!"

"I've been saving him for a special occasion," Malik said with a grin on his face, as he selected a monster quickly from his deck for Sangan's effect. "I needed something to replace Ra."

Bakura impressed look was enough to make Malik chuckle, and he continued.

"I'm taking Spirit Reaper for Sangan's effect. But I'm not done!"

"What else can you possibly do?!" Rex asked in fear.

"You didn't forget about Vampire Lord did you?" Malik asked, twisting the card on his duel disk so that Vampire Lord stood in attack mode. "I equip him with United We Stand!"

The vampire let out a satisfied cry as dark energy gathered around his form (3600/3100).

"Vampire Lord!" Malik shouted. "Take down Rex's Black Tyranno once more! Children of the Night!"

Once more, the flock of bats was released from within Vampire Lord's cape, and Black Tyranno was swarmed, crashing to the ground in a bloody heap before exploding. Vampire Lord recalled the bats, and licked a few flecks of blood from his finger tips, only to spit it out again. Clearly dinosaur blood tasted pretty foul.

"Felgrand Dragon, attack Rex directly with Golden Flame Blast!"

Any hopes Rex had of remaining standing after this attack were quickly incinerated as the dragon let lose a might blast of flames from its jaw. Rex screamed as the golden fire lapped at his body. As they died away, he sank to his knees, smoke rising from his clothing.

**Life Points**

Weevil: 7400

Bakura: 7300

Rex: 2800

Malik: 600

"I end my turn," Malik said, the grin still on his face as Rex staggered back to his feet. Weevil looked incredibly nervous.

"I…I play Pot of Greed," he stated, and like Malik had done before him, he drew two more cards. When he caught sight of one of them, he immediately began to giggle madly.

"This…this is it! You're both finished!"

"Erm…enlighten us please," Bakura said dryly.

"Like so!" Weevil cackled. "I remove Pinch Hopper and Flying Kamakiri from my graveyard…"

The two cards fell out of his discard slot, and the ground before the bug duellist began to tremble.

"To summon the mighty Doom Dozer!"

The bug burst onto the field in an explosion of dirt and flying rock. It, like many of Weevil's high level monsters, was huge, and continued to pull its long, centipede-like body out of the hole in the ground even though it stood almost a tall as Malik's dragon when upright. It's black exoskeleton gave way to a pink underbelly, and it clicked its pincers menacingly as the Seal appeared (3300/2600).

Outwardly, Bakura and Malik were trying not to show fear, but they were both starting to sweat again.

"You are both finished!" Weevil cackled, and Bakura quickly jumped in.

"You've got a bigger roach on the field and you think you're king of the world again?" he asked dryly.

"It's a centipede, not a roach!" Weevil snapped.

"Its still an ugly mistake of nature!" Bakura taunted. "Doesn't mean you've won!"

Weevil went volcanic. "YOU'VE INSULTED MY BUGS FOR THE LAST TIME!"

Malik quickly caught Bakura's eye, and nodded at his remaining facedown card. Bakura gave a small shake of his head.

/_I have life points to spare_/ the thief thought. /_Malik had better save that trap in case he needs it_/

"Doom Dozer attack his Dark Necrofear! Shred it to pieces with Pincer Crush!"

Unnoticed by his partner, Rex was looking furious at the decision, but it was too late to do anything as the giant insect crawled towards Dark Necrofear, scooped her up in its jaws and crunched down loudly. Bakura flinched, but other than that, gave no other reaction. Malik's finger was twitching over the button on his duel disk, but he didn't press it.

**Life Points**

Weevil: 7400

Bakura: 6200

Rex: 2800

Malik: 600

"And now Doom Dozers effect kicks in!" Weevil said. "Sending the top card on your deck to your graveyard Bakura!"

Bakura growled and removed the card as instructed.

"That'll do for me!" Weevil giggled.

"You're dead…" Bakura said, his voice low and deadly. "As soon as I draw what I need, you are dead Underwood!"

He ripped the top card off his deck, and his face fell.

/_Shit! Still no Zorc!_/

"Disappointed?!" Weevil taunted.

"Bite me!" Bakura snapped, setting another monster facedown before waving a hand at Rex. "Move already!"

Glaring at his tone (and Weevil, though the other didn't notice it) Rex drew. His reaction was remarkably similar to Weevil's, but as he threw back his head to laugh, Malik interrupted.

"Don't…just don't Raptor. Cut the laughter and move. We're all exhausted and we want to wrap this up!"

Rex shrugged and placed the card on his duel disk. A strange looking dinosaur appeared, this one covered in what appeared to be active lightning, which cackled all over its body, giving it an impressive aura despite its nonexistent attack and defence (?/?). As the Seal appeared however, its points readjusted slightly (500/?).

"…erm…okay we'd like a little more explanation than…that…" Bakura trailed off as the dinosaur's attack and defence points suddenly began to shoot up.

"Fine," Rex said. "This is Tyranno Infinity, and its effect means it gains a thousand attack and defence points for every dinosaur that has been removed from play…and if you remember, I removed six of them with Survival Instinct!"

Sure enough, Tyranno Infinity's scores had readjusted (6500/0) and Bakura and Malik both paled.

/_Oh my…_/ Ryou sounded faint.

/_I hope Malik has something planned_…/ Bakura thought.

"Now unlike Weevil," Rex sneered. "I'm not stupid enough to go attacking you Bakura, so Tyranno Infinity, attack Felgrand Dragon and take Ishtar out of the game!"

Energy crackled through the air, and before anyone could register what was happening, there was a blinding flash of light and a roar of electricity, which caused everyone to shield their eyes. Through the chaos of the attack, Malik hit the button on his duel disk, causing his trap to rise…

"Malik!" Yugi screamed in fear, as the smoke began to clear. He squinted, seeing Bakura come into view first…followed by Malik…but no Felgrand Dragon.

**Life Points**

Weevil: 7400

Bakura: 6200

Rex: 2800

Malik: 500

"What…how are you still standing?!" Rex bellowed.

"Covering Fire" Malik said, before looking at his trap card. "I activated it during the Damage Step, taking Vampire Lord's attack points and added them to Felgrand Dragon's attack points. So it had sixty four hundred before it went down…"

"…and you only lost a hundred life points," Rex looked furious. "I end my turn! There's still nothing you can do against this kind of power!"

"_He has a point,"_ Malik thought grimly as he drew. "_We're running low on cards and I don't have anything that can beat that many attack points…"_

He looked at the card he had just drawn. He hoped it was a good omen, but there really wasn't any point in playing it now…

"I'll set a monster in defence mode," Malik said, before giving his Vampire Lord a pained look. "I switch Vampire Lord to defence mode…and I guess I'll end my turn here."

"My move then!" Weevil said, drawing gleefully.

"_The question is, who to attack?_" he thought, studying the field. "_I could attack one of Bakura's defensive monsters…but then he'd have the chance to do something about it next turn…I think Malik's little vampire friend has been a pain for long enough!"_

"Doom Dozer, trample his Vampire Lord!" Weevil ordered, and the insect did so happily, chomping down on the terrified looking vampire. Malik ground his teeth together as he placed Vampire Lord and United We Stand into the graveyard.

"I'll end my turn!" Weevil said happily.

/_This is it_/ Ryou thought. /_If we don't get what we need now…I don't think we or Malik are going to last the next round…_/

Bakura swallowed his own nerves as he placed his hand on his deck…followed by Ryou's own spiritual one.

/_Come on…_/ Bakura prayed, drawing the card swiftly off the deck. In unison they felt a jolt of recognition.

/_I don't believe it_/ Bakura thought.

/_That's it!_/ Ryou said excitedly as the thief checked the card. /_Hurry up and play it!_/

Bakura could barely contain the grin on his face.

"I activate my facedown Contract with the Dark Master!" the card that had been sitting there for the better part of the duel lifted, and Malik let out a joyful cheer.

"I offer Dark Ruler Ha Des and A Cat of Ill Omen from my hand." Bakura hastily shoved the cards from his hand into the discard slot. "To call forth a creature of unstoppable power…Dark Master – Zorc!"

Before him arose the muscular cloaked zombie, leering down at Weevil and Rex with unconcealed glee on his face (2700/1500).

"So what?!" Rex scoffed. "Your monster isn't half as strong as mine, and it can't beat Weevil's either! Next turn you're finished!"

"You'd think that wouldn't you?" Bakura said. "I activate Zorc's effect!"

A die appeared above his head, and began to spin. Malik crossed his fingers as it clattered to a stop…on five.

"I'm good!" Bakura cheered, before pointing at Tyranno Infinity. "A five means I can destroy one monster on the field! So say goodbye to your Tyranno Infinity!"

"What?! You can't…" Rex's words died on his lips as his dinosaur was suddenly swallowed up by a blast of black magic. Zorc chuckled. "…do that…" Rex finished weakly.

"You were saying?" the thief quipped smugly. "Now all that's left for me to do is flip summon my Headless Knight…"

He did so, the chuckling fiend appearing beside the zombie, who gave it a casual glace before focusing on Rex again. Bakura hesitated over his other facedown monster – Necro Wall – before deciding to leave it where it was.

/_Not worth the risk_/ Ryou agreed.

"…and now both my monsters are free to attack," Bakura said. "Strike Rex down!"

Zorc attacked first, sending a ball of fiery black magic at the screaming dinosaur duellist, who fell to one knee as Headless Knight quickly followed, slashing across his chest and depleting the rest of his life points.

**Life Points**

Weevil: 7400

Bakura: 6200

Rex: 0

Malik: 500

The Seal of Orichalcos split off, a fragment of it moving to circle Rex, who looked dazed as it shrank around him. He didn't say a word as he keeled over completely, his body ripped of his soul. Weevil however, barely batted an eyelid at the sight, merely continuing to focus on Dark Master – Zorc.

"I end my turn," Bakura said, nodding at Malik, who pulled a card from his deck.

"_This has to work…_" he thought.

"I activate Monster Reborn!" he shouted, throwing his favourite spell into his duel disk. "To bring back Felgrand Dragon!"

As he spoke, the giant golden dragon reappeared, snarling viciously at Rex, before realising he was comatose, and turning its glare on Weevil instead.

"And now his effect activates," Malik said. "When he's special summoned from the Graveyard, I can pick any monster in there – like my Invader of Darkness – and my dragon gains attack points equal to that monsters level multiplied by two hundred."

Sure enough, the dragon's attack shot up dramatically (4400/2800).

"And now I'll activate Magical Stone Excavation," Malik said, plugging the other spell in and discarding the last two cards in his hand. "Which allows me to bring back Monster Reborn and use it again. This time I'm bringing back the monster I just mentioned – Invader of Darkness!"

The holy ankh appeared for the fourth time in the game, and beside the dragon appeared a golden fiend wrapped in a black cloak, which concealed most of its leering gaze from view (2900/2500). Weevil had now gone back to looking petrified.

"Your Doom Dozer can't stand up to this!" Malik warned. "Felgrand Dragon, attack that bug!"

Weevil managed to compose himself enough to press a button on his disk. "Activate DNA Surgery! Now all your monsters become insects!"

True to his word, Felgrand Dragon, Dark Master – Zorc and Invader of Darkness all doubled over on cue, and wings began sprouting from their backs. Felgrand Dragon had grown feelers at the front of its jaw, and Dark Master – Zorc and Invader of Darkness had both cried out in pain as their eyes warped and became compound. The long forgotten Insect Barrier deflected the dragon's blast.

"Shit, I forgot about that…" Bakura muttered. Malik had forgotten too, but he was too busy ranting to care.

"What was the point of that Weevil?!" he demanded. "You dodged one blast, but what the hell was the point?! Your monster can't take down my dragon, and even if you do attack Invader of Darkness or Dark Master – Zorc next turn, we'll still have enough points left! You've got barely any deck left and anything that can help you has probably been discarded already! Plus at the end of next turn, Destiny Board gets its last letter! Why drag this out longer?! What's the point?!"

He finished his rant, breathing harshly. Weevil didn't say anything however. His powers of speech seemed to have abandoned him. In fact – on the sidelines Yugi noticed first – Weevil didn't seem to be moving at all.

/_Voldemort knows he can't win_/ Yami thought. /_What is he doing?_/

Malik had also cottoned on, and cautiously ended his turn. Weevil drew from his deck…and looked up slowly.

"I pass this turn."

And just like that, he suddenly crashed to the ground, like a marionette that had just had its strings cut. The spirits of Destiny Board giggled in triumph and swarmed over the fallen duellists body as the Seal moved in for the final kill.

**Life Points**

Weevil: AUTOMATIC LOSS

Bakura: 6200

Rex: 0

Malik: 500

OOO

Voldemort sat back in his chair smirking. He could feel his power growing with each soul he collected from each victory. This duel might not have ended in the best possible way, but it was certainly not a disagreeable outcome. He had two more souls, and even better…he had learned something very valuable about the Item bearers.

"So you like protecting each other…?" he whispered, petting Nagini as the snake curled up on his lap. He remembered the numerous incidences in the duel when Bakura and Ishtar had rushed to each other's aid. Even more so, he remembered the reactions to Ishtar's plight in the middle of the duel, in particular Mutou's scream…oh how he would like to hear that again.

One thing puzzling him was what had happened to Ishtar during the duel. Something very peculiar had happened to the boy when he had been knocked out. It was almost as if his soul were experiencing some kind of conflict…but how could that have happened while he had been unconscious?

Voldemort brushed the thought from his mind. It didn't matter. What mattered was that he had uncovered a serious weakness in the bearers, and he planned to exploit it. Their souls would be a valuable contribution to his cause. He smirked and glanced down around his neck, where he knew a chain of Orichalcum hung beneath his robes. Weak though humans may be, nothing contained more powerful magic than a soul, and the bearers' souls would definitely be worth collecting.

He set off to contact his head duellists and inform them of this latest development, all the while formulating a plan to get to the ones the bearers cared about the most. He knew the Easter holidays were soon, and the bearers would be away from Dumbledore and his protection. It would be the perfect time to install some fear into them…

Had he been paying attention, he would have seen the stone beneath his cloak glow slightly, and magic swirl in an almost happy manner, the tiniest whisper of laughter heard within…

"_Play the game my pawn…bring the great beast more souls…_"

OOO

"Bloody hell! That was bloody brilliant!"

Yami, Bakura and Malik jumped and looked around wildly as Harry and Ron pulled off the Invisibility cloak. Harry looked a bit sheepish that they had been caught spying, but Ron was too busy grinning at the holograms, which were fading as the Seal vanished.

"Where…wha…how long have you two been watching?!" Malik demanded.

"Since you destroyed that big black dinosaur," Harry said. Malik felt himself relax slightly, in the knowledge that at least they hadn't seen him pass out. He wasn't planning on sharing the details of his trip to his soul room with anyone.

"Why didn't you speak up sooner?" Yami asked.

"It looked a bit intense," Harry said. "And we didn't want to distract you two," he nodded at Bakura and Malik.

"That was intense!" Ron said, still sounded mildly excited. "I thought you were both gonners more than once!"

"We almost were," Malik said, remembering all too well how hard the duel had been.

"Brilliant?" Bakura asked in a deadly voice, and Ron swallowed, sensing he may have put his foot in it with his opening sentence. "You thought us getting the crap kicked out of us, almost losing our souls and ripping two people from their bodies" – he pointed at Rex and Weevil – "was _brilliant_?"

Ron was about to splutter a defence, but he never got the words out. Harry's attention was not on the conversation however. At Bakura's words, his eyes had drifted to Rex and Weevil's comatose bodies. It hadn't seemed so serious at first because most of the times he'd seen people duelling it had just been a harmless game. But to see two people lying there, soulless, made him realise more than ever, just how serious this situation was.

His eyes drifted to Bakura and Malik. He knew they had just saved their own lives, and possibly the lives of people in the school by taking out Voldemort's henchmen, but he still couldn't ignore the fact that they had just done, in effect, the same thing a Dementor would do to a person…and they didn't seem to show any regret. Bakura looked as though he could care less, and Malik looked as though he had other more important things on his mind. What could possibly be more important to him than the fact that he'd just hurt two people and sent them to a fate that was, in many ways, worse than death?

Someone cleared their throat loudly, and the five students turned to see Albus Dumbledore standing behind them, observing the scene with a grim look on his face. Yami was surprised, for he had not felt the Headmaster's approach, and from the looks on their faces, neither had Bakura or Malik.

"Good evening everyone," Dumbledore said, but his voice was heavy with sorrow as he looked at Rex and Weevil's fallen bodies.

"You saw the Seal being activated then?" Malik presumed. Dumbledore shook his head.

"I felt their intrusion past out schools boundaries a while ago Mr Ishtar. By the time I could locate them however, your battle with them had already begun."

"You were watching the whole damn duel?!" Bakura burst out angrily. He wasn't that pissed at Dumbledore, more at himself for not realising that three people had been spying on them the whole time.

/_Hardly spying Yami…_/ Ryou pointed out.

"We should get Rex and Weevil to hospital," Yami said. "We cannot leave them here."

Malik looked disappointed at Yami's last words, but Dumbledore took over, waving his wand and levitating the two soulless shells before him.

"I thank you three for your help," he said, nodding at the Item bearers. "But its time you all went back to bed."

He spoke in a tone of finality, and Harry and Ron immediately obeyed, arranging the cloak over themselves. Yami however had one more question.

"What will happen to them?" he asked nodding at Rex and Weevil. Bakura and Malik looked as though they couldn't care less, but the truth was, Yami felt partially responsible for both of them. It was he and Joey who had beaten Weevil and Rex and had started their vendetta against them, and if it was not for their hatred of them, they would never have joined Dartz the first time around. And now, it was Yami's responsibility again, as Voldemort had taken advantage of that hatred and the fact that they had used the power before, and turned Rex and Weevil into his mindless puppets.

Of course Yami understood too that it wasn't completely down to him. The choices Rex and Weevil made after their losses were their responsibility, not his. And they had both been creeps before their defeat, and so he couldn't feel that bad, especially about Weevil, who had a habit of cheating his way to the top. He didn't like the pair of them, but he felt it was his fault partially that they ended up like this, and wanted to know that no harm would come to them.

"I shall keep them in the hospital wing overnight," Dumbledore said. "They shall be transferred to St Mungo's Hospital tomorrow morning, along with the rest of the victims who have suffered at the hands of the Orichalcos. Their memories will be wiped should they recover."

It was enough for Yami, and he nodded in thanks.

"Goodnight," the headmaster said, and there was a clear order in his voice as he turned and levitated the bodies of Rex and Weevil up to the castle, following in their wake. Bakura twitched at the order, and relinquished control to Ryou, as Yami did the same with Yugi. Malik just shrugged.

"C'mon then," he said. "I don't know about you guys, but my bed sounds really appealing…"

The group started off, taking care to keep their feet light and their voices low as they entered the castle, just in case Flich and his walking dustbunny of a cat (as Malik eloquently described her) were stalking around. As they did, Ryou sidled to Malik's side.

"Malik…what happened during the duel…when you passed out I mean?"

Malik was slightly alarmed, and immediately his mind raced. How had Ryou known that something happened? But he quickly schooled his face into a neutral expression and shrugged.

"Nothing…I just blacked out."

He wasn't happy about lying, but the last thing he wanted anyone to know about was that he'd had a conversation with his darker half in his mind. It was time he left his past buried…it would all be for the best…

Ryou was not convinced, and followed his friend silently, wondering why he had been sensing malevolent darkness from Malik's soul when he had passed out…and why no one else apparently had.

OOO

* * *

**A/N: **Hello mortals. This is the ever so sexy King of Thieves here. Mei is currently tormenting the Disclaimer Dude in the only way she knows how…

(Bakura looks over his shoulder to reveal Mei singing to the Disclaimer Dude as loudly and enthusiastically as she can)

Disclaimer Dude: (is slowly going mad) GET ME OUT OF HERE!

Mei: Shush you! Or I'll have Isis the Sphinx set her cats on you! (in the background, Bakura taps away at her laptop, posting a certain photograph of Mei's from a previous review to DuelistBlake1852's story on every website he can find) Good job Bakura! (pokes the Disclaimer Dude) I did warn you what would happen if you came after me didn't I?!

Isis: (grabs cats and ties tuna fish to Disclaimer Dude) Your kitty torturer's name is Muffin. Enjoy! (watches as cat attacks for the tuna)

Mei: Well there you are! I've done a tag duel, and I've pilled heaps of foreshadowing on you. I hope that makes up for my long absence! Now don't forget to click the pretty purple button and tell me how I did!


	25. Chapter 25: Five Pieces of the Puzzle

**Disclaimer: **After one completed fanfiction, two uncompleted fanfictions and four one shots, plus all the stuff I write that doesn't get put on the internet (which is a fair amount of stuff), I think its safe to say, I don't own Harry Potter or YuGiOh.

* * *

**Chapter 25: The Five Pieces of the Puzzle**

"Malik!" Ishizu called up the stairs. "Could you please give me a hand with these?"

Groaning with suppressed exhaustion, Malik rolled off his bed and plodded back down the stairs, weaving in and out of the piles of boxes, which had been unceremoniously abandoned as other tasks were called to attention. Most of them had been duct taped shut with Arabic instructions printed on the side, but a few of them remained open showing stacks of books, some old worn and crippled, and others new, shining and some still covered in plastic. The house had been in a very disorganised state since Malik had returned for the Easter holidays.

Malik sighed. It had finally come down to this. After over a year of the museum display, and months of delaying for as long as they could, the Ishtars could delay no longer. The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities had been putting pressure on Ishizu to return for the last few months. While she did still make frequent visits to Egypt, it was not enough to appease the Council, who now wanted her back permanently, along with the few remaining artefacts that had not been shipped home yet, purely because of their value. These included of course, the Tablet of the Nameless Pharaoh.

Ishizu and Odion could not lie to Malik, who knew that deep down his brother and sister missed Egypt. He did too. Sure, Japan was fun, and he had a task to complete in England before he could think of returning home, but it did not stop him from dreaming of going back. He wanted to live in the light, to make up for all the time he had missed. He had always known that they could not stay in Japan indefinitely, so he had known this day was coming, but it did cause a pang of sadness when he thought about leaving his friends.

Dragging his mind off this train of thought, the Egyptian boy picked his way carefully down the stairs and into the study. Ishizu was bending over the computer, apparently having abandoned the last of the boxes in favour of something much more interesting. Malik cleared his throat.

"I hope you aren't playing solitaire," he teased. "You know these boxes won't move themselves."

Ishizu looked up at her little brother, her sharp blue eyes giving him a mock exasperated look. "I'm checking my email Malik, to make sure that the first batch of the artefacts arrived safely last night."

"Don't suppose there's any more messages from the Tomb Keepers who didn't respond last month?" Malik asked. Ishizu shook her head sadly.

"Not since Ahmose called me the other day," she said. "He's had no luck either. Only two people are unaccounted for. Kiya and her family moved away two months ago, so I've had no contact with them. Oshar hasn't been seen for months either, he could be anywhere."

Malik's shoulders slumped. He really did not want to believe it was either of them who could have leaked the information they had found in the book, mostly because he had really liked Kiya when he had been a kid, and Oshar had been the guard of most of the scriptures, except the most important ones that were kept by the Ishtars themselves.

"I hope they're all right," Malik said. "And they haven't been found by Voldemort."

Ishizu nodded, before sighing and logging off her email.

"Come on," she said briskly, getting to her feet and straightening out the wrinkles in her dress. "Those boxes need to be in the hallway for the delivery people. Don't forget to mark them all."

"So I'm stuck doing heavy lifting," Malik said giving an exaggerated sigh. "Don't you have Odion for that?"

Ishizu rolled her eyes. "I'm sure our brother could use a hand. He's been helping me all day after all…unlike some."

"You rejected all my offers to help pack this morning!" Malik retorted. Ishizu rolled her eyes.

"Packing ancient scripts that could fall apart at any second with ones wand dear brother, does not constitute helping," Ishizu scolded, casting a sad look at a book on a stack on top of the shelf, which Malik had accidentally damaged earlier that day. While her brother had repaired it in no time flat, she refused to let him pack by magic any more.

With an overly dramatic bow to his sister, Malik picked up a stack of texts that had been in the possession of the Tomb Keeper's for centuries, placed the box on the table, and began to seal them up, before scrawling on the outside in Arabic with a thick black marker. The fumes from the ink caused him to wrinkle his nose in disgust as he recapped the pen and hefted the box into the already crowded hallway. Once there he waved his wand over the box and muttered an incantation. It glowed a purple colour before fading back to its normal look. Malik looked satisfied. Let's see a thief try to make off with them now!

As he returned his wand, Odion appeared from the kitchen, taking great care not to knock any of the boxes over and risk Ishizu's wrath.

"The delivery men are here," he said, taking another box from Malik.

"They're early," Malik said, looking at his watch and feeling rather put out by this, as some of Ishizu's texts and possessions had still not made their way into boxes. However the hallway was full enough to keep them occupied while they packed away the last few things. Most of their belongings would be shipped out now, with Ishizu and Odion following the next day to see to things back in Egypt. Both would return periodically to oversee the shipping of the last of their possessions, and attend to any final things she may have to wrap up with the museum. Malik would join them permanently at the end of the summer term.

At that point, the front doorbell rang.

"I'll go let them in," Odion said briefly, before heading out.

"Tell them to be careful of the boxes!" Malik reminded him. "Or Ishizu will mummify them!"

"I can imagine the Council's shock when they open the shipment only to find mummified delivery men," Odion said, with a rare twinkle of humour in his eyes.

"You know she'd do it!" Malik teased back, heading back into the living room. He knew his or her sister was quite capable of mummifying somebody correctly. She knew every Egyptian burial rite there was.

Ishizu was packing away her laptop when he found her.

"Sister," he said, fishing something out of his pocket as he spoke. "You forgot something."

Ishizu looked up at her little brother, with a raised eyebrow.

"I did?" she asked. Her brother grinned and held out a small, thin wrapped package.

"Since you'll be sitting on a plane tomorrow instead of celebrating your twenty first birthday with your younger brother," he said. "I thought I'd better give you this now. Happy birthday sis."

Ishizu smiled and took the package. "Duel Monster cards?" she guessed, feeling the size of what lay under the paper. Malik just looked innocently at the ceiling.

"Maaaaaaybe…"

"Thank you brother," Ishizu said, picking open the sellotape.

"Odion and I got you something else together," Malik grinned. "But I've given that to him to give to you tomorrow. Y'know me, I'd probably lose it."

Ishizu suddenly gained a sly grin. "Yes. Incidentally Malik, have you seen my copy of…"

"Probably not," her brother interrupted, knowing that whatever Ishizu had loaned him (or he had borrowed without asking) was probably lost in the chaos of packing today. "Open it!"

The paper fell away, and Ishizu examined the card. It was an effect monster named Spiria. A level six light attribute fairy with eight hundred attack points and two thousand five hundred defence points. Her effect allowed her to view one facedown card on the field per turn. The fairy was elegant, and called out to Ishizu in a strong way. She was immediately touched by the gift from her brother.

"Thank you very much Malik," she said. "I shall treasure her."

"Just as you treasure me?" Malik asked cheekily. Ishizu swatted at his shoulder, but the younger dodged the blow.

"You know I treasure you so stop fishing for compliments," she told him. Malik laughed.

"Feeling the love sister," he grinned, before looking around at the boxes, and deciding he should get back to work.

"Where's Odion?" Ishizu asked, stowing Spiria away in her deck.

"He was letting the delivery guys in," Malik reported, picking up the next box. As he straightened up, his head swam and he shook it to clear his vision.

"Been doing too much work today," he muttered, taking the box of items into the hallway and depositing it on top of another. Hearing Ishizu coming up behind him with another box, and seeing how full the hallway already was, he headed to the kitchen to see if there was any room to move some of them in there temporarily.

His stomach jolted unpleasantly.

"Malik, did I give you my list of contacts for when we're…away…" Ishizu trailed off, having seen the direction her brother was staring.

Outside the kitchen window, two Death Eaters were supporting an unconscious Odion, while the third raised his wand. Apparently, those delivery people weren't delivery people after all.

Malik dropped the box he was holding.

"Duck!"

OOO

Ryou flicked the paintbrush carefully over the last section of hair, before leaning back to examine the figurine. Now that he had repainted it and touched all the details up, it looked almost new, when in fact it was one of the first figurines he had ever created.

"Aren't you supposed to be sorting through those letters?" Bakura asked, nodding through the open door into the kitchen, at the stack of bills on the table. Ryou sighed.

"I know, but…I found all these old figurines, and they looked so faded and worn, I thought I should do something about them."

The corners of Bakura's lips twitched. It was about the closest you could get to a genuine smile from the thief. He came to stand next to the boy. "I understand Ryou. Especially for these three."

Ryou's gaze fell back on the three figurines before him. They represented his father, mother and sister, from when they had played Monster World together. Before Ryou had moved away…before his mother and Amane had been killed…before his father had become so distant…

He brushed the thoughts away before examining the figures. His father's figurine was a Birdtail Warrior, with wide dark blue wings to match his hair, along with a short sword. Doing his fatherly duty, he had always said, and protecting the family.

Then there was his mother, an Elf Diabolist, with her long white hair so like Ryou's making her seem fitting for her position as the member of the party who called spirits to do her bidding. Her dark robes only offset the colour more.

Finally, Amane had always played a Pixie-Fairy Enchanter. Spunky and mischievous, her hair was the same shade as their father's, and her outfit was of the same colour. Her butterfly like wings had been a cause of delight for her once Ryou had presented the finished figurine before their first game.

On whim, Ryou pulled out another drawer from the display cases, and took out his own game piece and Bakura's. White Wizard Ryou and Thief King Bakura took place next to the three drying lead figurines. Ryou studied them, all so different, and yet – he reckoned it was his imagination – he thought they all looked happy together.

He knew Bakura had sensed this thought, for the thief shook his head with a chuckle.

"Sentimental hikari," he muttered. Ryou just sighed, and got up, leaving the two figurines next to the repainted ones. Bakura groaned, wondering whether there was a switch in his brain to shut off insensitive comments. He sensed a long suffering feeling of weakness flooding through Ryou, the feeling that he couldn't let go of his family, not matter how far apart they were. He probably thought that in Bakura's eyes he looked pathetic.

He had never been more wrong, Bakura thought, tracing the figurines with an astral hand, able to touch them, but unable to affect them in any way. He could feel their smooth surface, and yet he could not move them or pick them up. If five thousand years ago he could have seen himself now, he would have been utterly disgusted at how powerless he currently was. Thief King of all Egypt, feared by all, now reduced to leeching off the body of a seventeen-year-old boy.

_He_ was the pathetic one.

Unfortunately, Ryou caught the tail end of this thought.

/_You're many things Bakura_/ he said. /_But pathetic is not one of them_/

Bakura cursed mentally.

"You weren't supposed to hear that," he said aloud as Ryou came back into the room with a glass of water in his hand.

"Well I did," the hikari said, sitting back in his seat. "And you're not."

He had brought the stack of bills with him and now began to shuffle through them, disregarding some of them, and opening the ones that needed immediate attention. Bakura sighed, mentally smacking himself. When had he started throwing pity parties for himself? Particularly in front of Ryou. He didn't need to lump his issues on him too.

"You realise I can hear what you're thinking Yami?"

"Fuck," the spirit grunted irritably.

"Yep, heard that too," Ryou said, a smile ghosting over his face.

"You're certainly chipper for someone who was just angsting about his family," Bakura said bluntly. Ryou's smile faded slightly.

"We'll get father back," he said firmly. "You said so."

Bakura opened his mouth to agree, but before he could reply, the peace of the apartment was shattered with an almighty explosion from the front door. Ryou barely had time to breathe before he was shoved into his soul room.

/_Bakura, what…?_/

/_Stay where you are!_/ the thief replied, pulling out Ryou's wand, along with his knife. He threw himself under the Monster World table as the study door was blasted off its hinges. It slammed heavily onto the tabletop RPG and for a nasty moment, Bakura was worried that it was about to come down on his head. Whichever deity watching him however, decided to spare him this unpleasant fate, though the thief knew that the board was probably ruined. Two Death Eaters marched in, wands drawn, their eyes glittering in malice.

Bakura wasted no time, leaping out from his temporary hiding place and slitting the first Death Eater's throat. The man fell to the floor with a gurgling groan as blood soaked his black robes, turning them a deeper shade of black than before. The second Death Eater raised his wand, but Bakura was ahead of him. The Millennium Ring glowed and the man slumped to the ground, a soulless shell.

/_Bakura…_/ Ryou sounded horrified. Bakura swallowed the anger brought on by the blood lust.

/_Sorry_/ he said, before his ears perked up. /_There's more of them. We'd better get out of here_/

He stepped over the bodies and into the hall as another Death Eater burst out of the master bedroom. Bakura cursed, throwing a shield charm up as fast as possibly to deflect the stunning spell that was sent his way. The Ring flashed and Bakura's eye twitched as he felt a familiar pulse of magic. He tore through the hall while the shield was still up and out the front door…

Straight into the hands of the three waiting Death Eaters.

OOO

Yami might have been five thousand and nineteen years old, and he might have been slightly paranoid, but that did not mean he was stupid. He sat in the shop, on the floor behind the counter, alert for the first signs of any customers, his forehead furrowed in thought. He had waited until Solomon had vanished to the back door to wait for the delivery of cards he was expecting (the shop owner had stopped taking deliveries at the shop door, as it was not only a fire hazard, but it was easier to bring the boxes in through the kitchen rather than the front entrance). The Millennium Necklace was clasped in his right hand, glowing with a golden light.

He could sense it. It was very faint and far away, but it was the dull pulse of anger and fury that indicated the Orichalcos. He cursed this sensitivity and wished he could tell who the magic was directed at. The Necklace was being remarkably compliant however, and the Pharaoh guessed that possibly the fact there was a magical energy source in the city was giving it a jumpstart. It helped of course that since going to Hogwarts, he and Yugi had become vastly more powerful.

"…the Ishtars…" Yugi whispered, sitting in spirit form next to his counterpart. "…Ryou and Bakura…"

Yami had seen it too. Flashes of explosions, damage and battle. The vision cut off abruptly and he slumped against the counter. He felt slightly less worried, for he knew that Bakura and Malik were both capable of defending themselves, but he also knew that this would not last long. The Death Eaters were coming for them too.

Yami and Yugi both looked through the door that led off to one side of the shop and into the small cupboard where the stock was kept. Joey had been in there for the past five minutes, sorting through the empty boxes and trying to make some room in a room that was always cluttered and a jumbled mess. Since Yugi had left for Hogwarts, Joey had been spending more and more time at the Game Shop after Solomon had offered the young duellist an after school job. It helped Joey pay for food, and gave him an excuse to spend time away from his father, plus he liked it there. Solomon was certainly not complaining, as Joey's fans would often stop by and they brought good business.

Through the second door, the one leading into the house, Solomon was clearly audible, opening the back door to greet the deliverymen, as the sound of the van appeared. Yugi looked worriedly at the ground.

"They'll be here for us soon," the hikari whispered. Yami nodded, putting the Necklace back in Yugi's jacket pocket and pulling out his deck. The pulse of the Orichalcos had got closer and closer while he had been occupied with the Necklace. Yami quickly got up and went to lock the door, flipping the store sign around to 'closed'. At the noise of the locks, Joey stuck his head out of the stock room, a half crushed, half ripped cardboard box in his hands.

"Yug'?" he asked. "Something wrong?"

"Close your eyes Joey," Yami said gravely. "What can you sense?"

Joey frowned, but he knew from the voice pitch that he was talking to the Pharaoh and not Yugi, and he trusted the elder's judgement. He closed his eyes, and immediately a jolt of negative emotion shot through his heart.

"Yeah…I feel it," he confirmed. "Not far from here. Could be in the same street."

Yami nodded. "Ryou and the Ishtars may be in the same situation. I could see flashes of it with the Necklace. It could not show me the battles outcome though."

"Let's hope they're okay," Joey said.

"They will be," Yami said firmly. "I have faith in all of them."

Joey took out his own deck and examined it briefly, flicking through all the cards that had helped him come so far in life – indeed, that had helped him become East Asian Champion as of a few weeks ago.

"D'you think we'll have to fight em?" Yami nodded in affirmation.

"I would guess so. I only hope Kaiba is okay."

Joey gave a small smile. "He'll be fine Yugi. Rich Boy may be a pain in the butt, but he knows how to handle himself…"

He broke off. There was a crash from outside, and a groan of "not again!" which could only come from one person…

"Grandpa!" Yami shouted in alarm.

OOO

The window exploded, sending glass flying inward and over the heads of the two conscious Ishtar siblings. Malik fell to his knees and behind him he heard Ishizu do the same. He hoped that she had actually ducked, and had not been knocked over in the explosion. The brick and plaster dust billowed into the room, and Malik felt his throat dry up as he accidentally inhaled a mouthful.

Outside he could hear shouting between the Death Eaters. Malik slowly lifted his head, feeling the glass slide off his hair and neck, landing with a tinkle on the floor. Behind him he heard Ishizu do the same.

"Stay down," he hissed, his voice dry and scratchy. He hoped she would listen to him as the dust began to settle. Malik had the Millennium Rod and his wand both clutched in his right hand. His left was pulling his deck out of his pocket.

"What are you doing?" Ishizu whispered. Before Malik could answer, there was a loud bang as the front door was pushed open brutally, slamming it against the wall. Malik didn't hesitate.

"Vampire Lord!"

The tall aqua haired vampire was beside his master instantly.

"Hold them off!" Malik ordered, already selecting another card. "Legendary Fiend!"

Another monster, this one with a blue muscular torso, dark hairy legs, clawed hands, bat-like wings and a sneering face now stood in the kitchen as Vampire Lord exited to deal with whoever was trying to get into the house.

"Get Odion away from those two guys!" Malik said, before turning to his sister. "Meet us by the ffront door! Come on Ishizu!"

To give Ishizu her due, she recovered very quickly, got up and was already pulling her own cards out of her pocket, still managing to look regal and calm despite the danger they were in. Malik pulled her to the door, and winced as Vampire Lord sent a flock of bats at the intruding Death Eater, who screamed and ran away from the house, shielding his neck and face from their tiny fangs.

"Guard the door," Malik ordered before shooting towards the staircase.

"Where are you going?" Ishizu hissed. "Those two men out there still have Odion!"

"Exactly!" Malik said. "I'm going to get his deck!"

Ishizu barely had time to roll her eyes before her brother had vanished up the stairs. He returned with their brother's cards in a matter of seconds. Legendary Fiend approached the door, with Odion over its shoulder. The elder Ishtar was not moving.

"His soul," Ishizu breathed. "Is he…?"

"I don't think so," Malik said, stowing the Rod back in his belt and raising his wand. "I think he's just unconscious. Probably stunned."

He examined his brother's eyes, before waving his wand, and praying that for once his wand work would be up to par.

"Enervate!"

Odion began to stir and Legendary Fiend propped him against the wall.

"Master," the fiend began in a hoarse ragged tone. "One of the men escaped when I attacked his colleague. I anticipate he will return with backup."

"Ma…Malik?" Odion sounded dazed. "Ishizu?"

"Stay still Odion," Ishizu soothed, urging him to lean back against the wall. "Malik we should leave, at least for a little while in case they come back. We're not safe here."

"You're right," Malik said. "Ryou's is closest. It's ten minutes to get to his apartment. Five if we run."

"Odion is in no fit state to run," Ishizu said immediately.

"Then I'll have him carried," Malik said impatiently, his eyes scanning the area for any more Death Eaters. "Just let me find a monster..."

"I'll be fine," Odion said, getting slowly to his feet. He swayed slightly, but managed to keep his balance. And not a minute too soon, as a series of loud cracks appeared and five Death Eaters apperated by the roadside.

"Hold them off!" Malik ordered his monster, giving Odion a shoulder as a support and turning to Ishizu.

"Now run!"

OOO

His wand and knife were wrenched from his hands, and his arms were forced painfully behind his back. Bakura snarled and tried to twist out of his captors grasp. He could not believe that he, the King of Thieves, had been trapped so easily! He stumbled forwards as the person who was restraining him smacked him around the head. This guy was freakishly strong.

Trying to ignore the throbbing in his skull from where he had been struck, Bakura tried to listen. He felt Ryou separate in spirit form.

"Was he the only one?" the Death Eater holding him asked gruffly. The man Bakura had fought off in the hallway appeared in the front door, shaking his head at the other man's question.

"Rest of the house is clear. Jugson and Patricks are dead though."

"Bastards!" Bakura shouted, but it came out mildly slurred. He hadn't realised his how hard he had been hit.

"Mouthy isn't he?" sneered another. Bakura glared at him. "We should get him back to the Dark Lord. Nott, if you would?"

The Death Eater who had checked the house nodded and approached the struggling thief, his wand drawn. Ryou was by Bakura's side instantly.

/_There's a group of them at the stairwell just in case we try and escape_/ he warned.

/_How many?_/ Bakura asked, wondering if he could take them.

/_Three_/

/_Damn it! I'll never be able to take them all without my knife. And they've still got your wand_/

/_We've still got the Ring_/ Ryou pointed out. /_We could banish them…except…_/

/_Except for Nott_/ Bakura finished. /_I felt it too. He's got an Orichalcos rock around his neck. If we piss him off he could attack. Too risky_/

/_Wait!_/ Ryou said suddenly, focusing hard. Bakura did too. There, at the edge of his senses, was a surge of Shadow magic, coming closer and closer, until he could recognise the aura as…

/_Malik!_/ Ryou said. /_He must be heading here! He could be our only hope_/

A smirk tugged at the edge of Bakura's lips. He wondered if he could break away long enough to get to the edge of the…

/_Are you nuts?!_/ Ryou exploded, having caught the tail end of this thought.

/_Yup_/ Bakura agreed. /_What other options do we have Ryou? Either we get down there fast, or we don't get down there at all! Now hold on tight hikari!_/

This whole exchange had happened in less than a second. As Nott yelled the incantation, Bakura threw his weight backwards, sending his captor sprawling back onto the floor. His head hit the concrete with a sickening crack as the curse sailed over them. Bakura was up in an instant, racing towards the balcony and throwing himself over the edge.

"Change of Heart!" Bakura bellowed. The half angel, half demon appeared out of nowhere and flew up into the air, grasping the thief mid-fall and slowing him down before he hit the ground.

/_Oh my God_!/ Ryou sounded terrified, but at the same time, mildly exhilarated ("_I've created a daredevil!" _Bakura thought proudly_) _/_I can't believe you just jumped five stories off a building!_/

/_Yes I did_/ Bakura said in a satisfied voice, his feet touching down on the ground. He raised the card and Change of Heart vanished. Quickly the thief backed away from the apartment, where up on the fourth floor, he could now see the heads of the Death Eaters peering over the balcony edge.

"Bakura!" Malik's voice cut through the thief's smugness. From the look on the Egyptian boy's face, he had seen ever second of that little stunt. Behind him, Ishizu and Odion were also watching, alarmed and shaken, but apparently unharmed.

"Are you completely out of your mind?!" Malik ranted. "What on Earth possessed you to do that?!"

Before Bakura could answer, the Death Eaters answered for him, firing down at the small group. From five stories up, their aim was not fantastic, but it was enough to send all four of them running for cover of the nearest alley.

"You're nuts," Malik said as soon as they were out of sight. The barrage of spells died off and from the faint shouts, Bakura guessed that the Death Eaters were heading down the stairs.

"Established fact Malik," Bakura assured him. "We should keep moving…oh but before we do…"

"What?" Malik demanded, quite keen to be moving now that they were being followed again. He had not felt Vampire Lord return to him, so he gathered that his monster was still fighting off the Death Eaters at their house.

"I need you to get two things off those Death Eaters," Bakura explained. "Ryou's wand and my knife. They took them when they disarmed me."

"The wand I can understand," Malik said raising his own. "But why the knife?"

"It's a good knife," Bakura said irritably. "Are you going to question me all evening, or are you going to get them back for me?"

Were they not about a minute away from being viciously assaulted by a group of cloak wearing, magic wielding lunatics, Malik might have asked the thief to say 'please'. But time was running short, so he muttered '_accio_' and soon enough, the two objects came sailing into view. Bakura grinned at the sight of them, and as he replaced the knife in his belt, Vampire Lord came flying into view.

"Master," he reported landing next to Malik. "Those men retreated from the house."

"Good work," Malik nodded. Bakura swept past him.

"Catch up with your monsters later Ishtar," he advised, before addressing all three (well four if you included Vampire Lord). "Move it!"

The thief led the already exhausted Ishtars out of the alley and off down the road. After a few words from Malik, Vampire Lord returned to the sky to scout for any trouble.

"The Game Shop is fifteen minutes walk away," Malik said. "I don't think we'll be able to shake the Death Eaters off for very long."

"Don't be a pessimist," Bakura ordered. "That's my job."

Even as they spoke, a car shot past them and they all jumped. Everyone was on edge. The few random people who were walking nearby were regarded with suspicious eyes.

"Some protection of Dumbledore's," Malik huffed.

"At least if failed while you were here," Ishizu pointed out. "We would have been worse off if you were not here to protect us."

"And that's also why they waited until now to attack," Bakura reminded them. "I am sick of that old man's failed promises! He said you would all be protected and watched!"

"Why Bakura," Malik teased, some of his usual spirit coming back now that they were out of immediate danger. "One would almost think you cared."

"Shut up!" Bakura snapped. "I just don't like being lied to! Nor do I appreciate being strung along. I think you and I are one in the same in that respect Malik."

Malik had to agree, but a smug portion of his mind registered with satisfaction that Bakura had not actually denied caring about them.

"Master," Vampire Lord descended as they rounded the corner into a mercifully deserted street. "I sense those men close by."

The three humans and one spirit exchanged looks. Had the Death Eaters caught up with them so quickly? Or worse, were they already at the Game Shop, picking off Yugi, Yami, Joey and Solomon?

"We need to send word ahead," Bakura summarised. "Malik…"

"Way ahead of you," the Tomb Keeper assured him, turning to Vampire Lord as they continued to walk. "Vampire Lord I need you to go ahead to the Game Shop and warn the Pharaoh and Yugi."

The zombie nodded before flying off again.

"We'll need another scout," Bakura said. "But I have no monsters that can scan from the air…"

"I do," Ishizu said, pulling her deck out. Malik was surprised and Bakura looked mildly sceptical, but now was really not the time to be picky.

"Fine, I'll lend you the power of the Ring to summon."

"I can do it," Malik offered. Bakura shot him a look.

"You've already summoned today, and easier or not, you might need all your magic later. I'll give her the power to call her monster."

Ishizu nodded in agreement, and Malik relented.

"Spiria! Come to my aid!"

There was a glow of white light that seemed to envelope Ishizu, until a monster appeared next to her. It was a beautiful fairy with dark blue hair, a grey dress and white wings, which matched her feathered headdress. She hovered next to Ishizu, looking serious, but at the same time, strangely content to be in Ishizu's presence. Bakura was startled.

/_Priestess Isis…_/

/_What?_/ Ryou asked, unsure of what his darker half had uttered. The thief shook his head.

/_Nothing Ryou_/ he soothed, before saying aloud. "We should keep moving."

They had halted briefly for Ishizu to summon, and the lone woman of the group now turned tfo her companion and explained the situation. The fairy nodded before taking to the air. Malik was surprised. Often a duellist had to have a strong link with their cards in order to summon them using Shadow magic. However Spiria had responded to Ishizu immediately, when she had not even had the card for an hour. But then again, he mused, he had only had Vampire Lord for a few months, but he felt connected to it because it was from his sister. Maybe because the fairy had been a gift from him, she was connected enough to it to call it so easily.

Bakura though, knew better.

"_So Ishizu is Isis's reincarnate. I had a hunch…"_

A car horn honkfed at them, causing them all to jump in alarm again. Bakura looked about ready to hex whoever it was, but all of them were surprised when a limo drew up beside them and the window rolled down to reveal a familiar mop of jet black hair.

"You guys need a lift anywhere?" Mokuba asked, and his face pinched in worry as all four of them looked incredibly relieved. He turned to look over his shoulder at Seto, who was frowning in distaste at the people on the other side of the window, who were now scrambling to get into the car.

"Erm…d'you think we're missing something Big Brother?"

OOO

"Hey!" Joey shouted angrily, as the two boys burst out of the back door. The Death Eaters took an involuntary step back as the blonde duellist went for the closest one and slammed his fist into his jaw. The cloaked figure hit the ground with a thud.

"Swords of Revealing Light!" Yami bellowed, pulling the corresponding card from his pocket. Joey backed away just in time to see the wall of golden swords crash around the Death Eaters, holding them in place. Yami began the slow process of dragging Grandpa inside. The elder was not seriously injured, he just appeared to have had the wind knocked out of him.

"We aint fighting?" Joey asked in disappointment, helping his friend seat Solomon at the kitchen table.

"That'll stall them until we are ready to fight back," Yami explained, straightening up and pulling the top card off his deck. Dark Magician appeared a second later.

"Erm…I guess I'd better wait till we're outside hey," Joey said, realising that Red Eyes was unlikely to fit in the kitchen. "You stay here Gramps."

"Be careful," Solomon choked out, massaging his stomach where he had been struck.

"We will," Yami assured him. Outside the window there was a golden flash as Swords of Revealing Light began to flicker and fade.

"Let's go," Yami ordered. Dark Magician was out of the door in an instant, with the Pharaoh right behind him. Joey gave Solomon an encouraging grin before heading out after them.

"Dark Magic Attack!" Yami ordered, just as the Swords flickered and faded. Dark Magician fired as the Death Eater that had attacked Solomon began to raise his wand. Yami felt a surge of relief as the man was struck, as he was the Death Eater carrying the Orichalcum. Now none of them could call the Seal. As the attack hit dead on, Yami heard Joey behind him, calling for his own monster. Red Eyes Black Dragon appeared above the Game Shop, growling ferociously at their remaining enemies. The Death Eater whom Joey had punched brandished his own wand at the blonde duellist.

"Crucio!" he spluttered through a bloody nose. Joey was blasted backwards by the curse, screaming and twitching.

"Joey!" Yami shouted in alarm, but before he could call another attack, Red Eyes let out a roar of anger and a blazing inferno crashed into the offending Death Eater, who screamed as his robes caught fire. Joey stopped screaming, and pushed himself up panting heavily. Yami ran to his side.

"Are you alright?"

"Relax man," Joey said. "I'm fine…just gimmie a sec to catch my breath…"

"You two have an appointment with our master," one of the Death Eaters hissed.

"Your 'Master' is insane!" Joey spat out, causing several of the Death Eaters' gazes to turn deadly. Yami realised too late that he was not wearing his language patch so he could not understand what the Death Eaters were saying, or what Joey had replied with, but the reactions of their enemies were indication enough.

"Watch what you say Joey," the Pharaoh cautioned.

"Scum!" one of the Death Eaters roared, and several spells were cast at the two duellists. Dark Magician intercepted two of them, both of which sent him flying back into the wall of the shop. Joey's Red Eyes blasted the remaining ones out of harms way. Yami gritted his teeth as he felt his monster wilt from the attack.

"Your monsters are weak compared to us!" another Death Eater said. "Stupe…argh!"

Yami and Joey's jaws dropped simultaneously as the group of cloaked figures were swooped down on by a swarm of shrieking bats. They all cowered, covering their heads with their arms to avoid the scratches and bites. From the sky appeared a very familiar monster, which watched the Death Eater's plight with amusement.

"Vampire Lord?" Yami asked. The zombie turned to the two and bowed to Yami.

"Pharaoh, my master, his siblings and the Tomb Robber will be here shortly."

Yami relaxed, grateful that the other Item bearers were okay, and relieved that they were not far away. He stiffened again though as he saw their distraction had vanished and some of the Death Eaters were starting to get to their feet. Vampire Lord stood next to Dark Magician, who had pulled himself off the floor and was standing ready to protect his master.

"Let's take em apart hey Yug'?" Joey asked, the familiar gleam back in his eye. Yami nodded in agreement.

"Dark Magician, attack!"

"Inferno Fire Blast!"

The attacks were launched simultaneously and three more Death Eaters skidded to the ground, leaving just two standing.

"All yours Vampire Lord!" Joey invited.

"Thank you very much!" the monster said gleefully, flinging his cape out and sending another flock of bats at the cowering men…

Or that's what it looked like. One of the Death Eaters suddenly made a wild dive for one of his fallen comrades, and straightened up just as the bats were about to attack, clutching a thin silver chain in his fist. The sickening green pulse of the Orichalcos came alive, and a weak green shield appeared, sending half of the bats ricocheting off in all directions, and the other half slamming straight into it.

The man had grabbed the Orichalcum off their leaders neck…and now the power was consuming him.

"Err Yug'…" Joey said slowly. "This doesn't look good…"

"No," Yami shook his head. "He can't handle that magic! It's spiralling out of control."

Sure enough, a high speed wind was whipping around the Game Shop, causing the glass in the windows to shatter. The screams of the man were all that proved his existence, for a column of green light had enshrouded him completely. Waves of dark magic pulsed from within him, sending waves of nausea rolling over the two duellists as they stood before the scene.

Finally the light died down and the Death Eater was revealed…

A figure that was less than human leered out at Yami, Joey and the one remaining Death Eater. Yami felt ice flood his stomach as he realised what must have happened. It was exactly what had happened to the citizens of Atlantis after the Orichalcos corrupted them. They all became monsters, the very embodiments of the darkness in their hearts. The hulking, snarling and gruesome form before them was the result of the darkness consuming the Death Eater, stripping away everything human from his soul.

The muscular creature let out a bellow before swinging one of its fists at the remaining Death Eater, who crumpled to the ground instantly. All three monsters immediately prepared to attack as the creature went for the closest one first, striking out Vampire Lord…

A beautiful fairy dropped before the three monsters and a protective shield surrounded them all, sending the creature flying back and skidding against the dirt. Yami didn't have to wonder where the fairy had come from. He could sense the approaching magical signatures. Their friends had finally arrived.

"What in the name of all that Ra shines on is that thing?!" demanded a very disgusted, and slightly unnerved Bakura.

"_Was_ that thing," Malik corrected, as Dark Magician and Red Eyes attacked together while the creature was down. The two blasts of magic cleared and the monster that used to be a Death Eater gave a whimper and vanished in a swirl of sickly green magic. Yami and Joey relaxed.

"Perfect timing guys," Joey informed them. "How'd you get here so quickly?"

"Kaiba gave us a lift," Malik indicated, pointing to Seto and Mokuba, who were lingering behind Bakura.

"What happened just now Joey?" Mokuba asked. "That was no duel monster I've ever seen."

"I don't think it was exactly," Joey shook his head. "That guy grabbed the Orichalcum off their leader and things started going nuts…"

While Joey gave a brief outline, Yami's eyes followed Spiria, who was shaken from shielding the attack, but had moved to stand next to Ishizu. The Pharaoh frowned. Something at the back of his memory was struggling to break free. He couldn't help notice how comfortable she was next to Ishizu. But he had never seen the fairy in her deck before…

/_That monster seems really familiar…_/

In his soul room Yugi was confused. /_I never knew Ishizu had Spiria. It's quite a rare card_/

Yami quickly wiped the frown off his face as he realised that Ishizu had noticed him staring. He smiled gratefully at them both.

"Your monster saved us Ishizu. Thank you."

Ishizu was about to insist that thanks were not needed, when the air around them split with several resonating cracks, and twenty Death Eaters appeared into place, surrounding them all by the side of the Game Shop. Everyone instinctively bunched together. Dark Magician (2500/2100), Vampire Lord (2000/1500), Spiria (800/2500) and Red Eyes (2400/2000) readied themselves for battle.

"What do we do?" Mokuba asked, sticking close to his big brother for comfort. Before anyone could respond, a single Death Eater stepped forwards. Yami, Joey and Seto tried not to wince as the rock around his neck pulsed angrily, sending a wave of magic out, surrounding the shop and the people within it…

The Seal slowly scored itself into the ground, and the Death Eater's eyes glowed.

"Everyone call your monsters!" Yami ordered. "Now that the Seal is in play you can summon whatever you want. You don't have to get energy from us."

Kaiba, Mokuba, Bakura and Odion, who were the only four yet to summon immediately called their monsters into the battle. Blue Eyes (3000/2500) joined Red Eyes in the air, letting out the familiar cry that everyone knew well. Odion stood protectively next to Ishizu, Embodiment of Apophis (1600/1800) appearing next to Spiria, who crouched in defence. Diabound (1800/1200) materialised before Bakura, with Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 (2300/1600) appearing beside Mokuba.

Far from look worried however, the Death Eater with the Seal on their forehead just smirked.

"Two can play at that game! Orichalcos Gigas! Aid us in this fight!"

Yami and Kaiba looked horrified, as a creature burst from the ground, pulling its monstrous form into view. Its muscular body was encased in thick leather straps and a spiked collar, which rested around its thick neck. On its demented looking face, the Seal of Orichalcos was branded into its forehead (400/1500).

"That sure don't look friendly," Joey said, being the only chosen duellist not to have faced this creature.

"Looks weak to me," Bakura said scornfully. "It doesn't stand a chance! Diabound! Helical Shockwave!"

"No Bakura! Stop!" Yami warned, but it was too late. The demonic fiend had gathered a ball of seismic energy in its hands and hurled it at the Orichalcos monster. It groaned loudly before disintegrating under the attack.

"Told you so," the thief said, folding his arms smugly. The grin vanished however when the ground began to shake and Orichalcos Gigas broke through the Earth again and reappeared next to the smirking Death Eaters.

"Its back!" Malik gasped.

"Worse," Yami growled, as the monsters attack points suddenly shot up to what the Pharaoh knew to be the equivalent of 900.

"Its stronger now," Joey stated obviously.

"Kaiba and I have faced this monster before," Yami grimaced. "And it was almost impossible to defeat."

Behind him, Kaiba gave an impatient grunt.

"You handle the monsters Yugi. I'll deal with the more immediate problem. Blue Eyes, attack the leader! White Lightning attack!"

The dragon roared and charged up a ball of magical lightning. The Death Eaters all scattered out of the way as the attack blasted its way towards the Orichalcos user. The ball of magic exploded a few feet short of its target however, as a second Orichalcos Gigas arose from the ground, shielding the Death Eater from harm. It shattered instantly, before clambering back out of the ground, its attack points climbing as it did.

"He's just summoning more to protect him," Joey scowled, at the same time the rest of the Death Eaters began shooting stunning spells around the Seal. The spells ricochet off the walls of the Seal, bouncing back and forth, causing everyone to flatten themselves to the ground.

"Malik! Bakura! Odion! You three keep the Orichalcos Gigas off our backs!" Yami shouted, as the spells started to die off, and everyone stopped dodging frantically. As that happened a third Orichalcos Gigas pulled its way out of the ground. "Everyone else, attack the Death Eaters!"

"Got it!" Malik said, turning back to his monster. "Vampire Lord attack with Children of the Night!"

The nearest monster exploded into atoms again, and the ground crumbled as it began to clamber out of the Earth once more. While the path was clear however, Mokuba launched his own attack.

"Horus! Incinerate the Death Eater! Black Fire Blast!"

The silvery grey dragon let out a shriek before reducing the Death Eater to a smouldering pile of ash. Mokuba punched the air in victory, and Kaiba looked up from his Blue Eyes blasting another Death Eater to nod approvingly. A brilliant mirror like shield, generated by Spiria, suddenly blocked another Death Eater, who was duelling fiercely with Yami and Dark Magician. This distraction gave Joey enough time to whirl around and punch the man in the face, and allowed Dark Magician to finish him off without trouble.

"Thanks Ishizu!" Joey shouted. Toward the back of the group, Ishizu nodded, Spiria crouched next to her, defending her duellist, but throwing up protective barriers for anyone in danger. Nearby, Odion and Malik exchanged grins as another Orichalcos Gigas exploded into temporary nothingness. It regenerated very quickly, and Malik suddenly scowled as he realised something. Another Gigas swung as Odion, but it staggered forwards suddenly and exploded with a roar. A knife clattered to the ground, which was quickly scooped up by Bakura.

"Whaddaya know," he said casually. "Knives work too."

"Yeah but we've got bigger problems," Malik said, as the third Gigas regenerated again. "Is it me or we boxed in?"

Sure enough the three Ishtars and Bakura were now backed against the Game Shop wall. With the rest of their friends engaged in battles of their own with the Death Eaters, they were now a little bit stuck, between a wall, and several tonnes of evil possessed Duel Monster.

"Worse," Bakura said. "Their attack points keep climbing each time we destroy them. I could use Spirit Illusion to weaken it, but it would not last for long, and it can't take on all three of them at once…"

As they spoke one of the Orichalcos Gigas attacked. Odion immediately bellowed an order to his monster, but the attack ripped his Embodiment of Apophis to shreds. The elder fell to his knees clutching his chest.

"Odion!" Malik screamed, ignoring the second attack aimed his way. Another shield, courtesy of Spiria protected him from the blast, but the monster just clambered back out of the ground, its attack skyrocketing once again.

"This is bad!" Malik muttered. Though he could not see the attack strength of the monster, it was bigger and uglier than it had been when they had first started out. The same could be said of the other two leering down at them too. Two of them swung their fists in unison toward the group.

"Malik! Watch out!" Bakura yelped, seeing the two punches aimed both at Malik and his monster. There was a blinding flash and Spiria leaped in the way of the attacks, another shield erupting from her hands. The fists pushed and the shield cracked, until eventually it shattered and Spiria screamed as she was destroyed. Ishizu slumped to the ground, her legs unable to support her.

"Sister!" Malik hurried to his sister's side, but he paid dearly for this moment of inattention. The final Orichalcos Gigas ploughed its fist right through Vampire Lord, who gave a startled cry before shattering too. Malik collapsed next to his sister.

"Pharaoh! We could use some help over here!" Bakura shouted urgently, quickly willing the Millennium Ring to activate Spirit Illusion. A doppelganger of his Diabound appeared on the field, and weakened one of the Orichalcos Gigas.

On the other side of the Seal, Yami looked up from where he was effectively shielding and dodging the attacking Death Eater. Dark Magician was fighting furiously with another, aided by Joey, who when he was not shouting orders to his Red Eyes, was running up to the Death Eaters and punching them. Kaiba, Mokuba and their dragons were working effectively as a team, blasting Death Eaters simultaneously as they went.

/_Our friends are in trouble!_/ Yugi gasped. An angered look appeared on Yami's face and he turned to Dark Magician, who had avoided another curse and blasted the Death Eater into the Seal wall. If those monsters could take out the Ishtar's monsters, then there was a chance that they could best Dark Magician. Yami did not want to be left defenceless right now. His head swivelled instead to his rival.

"Kaiba! You need to protect the Ishtars! You're the only one who is still powerful enough!"

"I don't take orders from you Yugi!" Kaiba snapped, waving an arm at another Death Eater. "Attack!"

"Kaiba listen to me!" Yami ordered, but the CEO was paying no attention. As Blue Eyes blasted the Death Eater, an errant curse struck Horus the Black Flame Dragon, who howled in pain. Mokuba gasped and gripped his chest and Seto let out a roar of anger like the dragon above him. This moment of distraction cost him, as one of the Orichalcos Gigas turned around and swung its fist into his back. Kaiba crumpled next to his brother. Blue Eyes roared in anger as her master fell, and immediately attacked the monster. It shattered, but almost as soon as it regenerated, it attacked again, this one proving to be too much for the dragon to handle. The dragon crumpled next to Kaiba before vanishing.

Yami realised with a wave of hopelessness that it was all over. Blue Eyes had been their strongest monster and she had just been overcome. Joey, angered that his friends were falling, called on Red Eyes to attack the lead Death Eater again. The dragon launched its attack, but another Orichalcos Gigas intercepted it, withstanding it easily and retaliating. Joey screamed and crashed into the ground, his energy spent as his monster was destroyed. Another roar of pain and a cry indicated the final defeat of the weakened Horus. Snarling with rage, Bakura and Diabound also fell victim to an attack from the third Orichalcos Gigas.

Dark Magician took an attack and exploded, yelling in pain, and Yami crumpled to his knees. The Death Eaters circled the group.

They were pinned down.

There was no escape.

OOO

Solomon Mutou knew that destiny was a powerful force. He had been a victim of its hands ever since he had discovered the broken Millennium Puzzle in the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh. He had felt it pulling on him as he had hung precariously over the edge of the pathway, and heard his guide's screams as he was forced over the edge and into the ravine by the tombs traps. He had felt its touch as the ghostly spirit had pulled him away from this unpleasant fate, and the Puzzle had come into his hands.

But destiny no longer manipulated him. Now it manipulated his grandson, and his friends. He was an old man, but he knew that just because destiny had chosen another victim did not mean that he was of no use. He could count on his hands the number of games he had lost in his life. The three most obvious ones sprang to mind first. The game he had lost that had led to him fulfilling his bet of retiring from gambling, donning overalls and setting up the Game Store. He had to repress a chuckle at the thought of that one. And then there was Death T, but that was hardly a fair fight, as Kaiba's frightening "Death by Virtual Reality" simulations had triggered a heart attack. Most recently of course there was duelling Joey at the KC Championships, but that had all been in good fun.

_This_ fight however, was far from good fun.

Wrinkled hands opened the drawer of the bedside table and pulled out the deck of cards, sifting through them and studying a set of them intently. Though they were in protective sleeves, it was still easy to see that two of them were wrinkled at the edges, as though they had been dropped in water and then dried with great care.

The owner sighed and plugged the deck of cards into the duel disk. The young ones were struggling and soon they would fall. He was in this battle too, and he would see to it that these men failed.

Just because destiny had a new victim, didn't mean he couldn't play this game too.

OOO

They were all crumpled and in pain. Their monsters were gone, broken and defeated as their own energy and their human's life force had proved too weak to sustain them.

But Yami knew, as he glared out at the circling Death Eaters, that they were far from beaten. No one had the look of defeat on their faces just yet. Everyone was still trying to get up, and protect the group from the surrounding forces. The determination radiated off all of them, through all the aches from the beatings.

Unfortunately, the fact remained, as the Death Eaters encircled the group, smirking at their prizes, that there were very few options left to them.

"Well that was hardly a challenge," the Death Eater with the Seal branded on his head was looking smug through the demonic glint in his eyes. He had lapsed into Japanese, as he seemed to have realised that taunting them in English was useless.

"You…just…wait," Mokuba panted. "We can kick your sorry butts!"

"Yes, just give us a second to catch our breath," Bakura added dryly. While he admired Mokuba's defiance, none of them were in any fit state to do any butt kicking at this moment in time. The Death Eaters laughed, and Seto inched closer to Mokuba, ready to jump in and protect his little brother should the need arise.

"You?!" the head Death Eater taunted. "Kick our butts? Please! You can hardly stand! Your energy is depleted and soon the Seal shall take your souls for our Master's cause!"

"Never!" Yami snarled. "The Seal only takes the souls of losers. And we are far from beaten!"

"You're all out of monsters!" the Death Eater chortled.

"Not just yet we aren't!"

Everyone's head swung towards the door of the Game Shop. Standing on the threshold, with an active duel disk on his arm, was Solomon Mutou.

"Grandpa!" Yami, and a spiritual Yugi gasped.

"Are you nuts?!" Joey shouted, forgoing all politeness in light of his concern. Next to him, Yugi looked terrified for the elders safety. The Orichalcos Gigas looked stupidly at this new player, and there was a bout of scornful laughter from the Death Eaters.

"Foolish old man!" the Death Eater controlling the Seal hissed. "Your soul is almost not worth feeding to the darkness!"

"Really?" Solomon asked, slipping five cards from his deck. "Well just try this 'foolish old man' if you're so sure!"

"No Grandpa!" Yugi had taken over, forgotten all of his own fatigue and tried to stand up. He was pulled back by firm hands.

"Don't move," Kaiba warned, his voice a low hiss as he pulled Yugi back to the ground. "If he's about to do what I think he's going to do…"

Yugi had no idea why Kaiba was holding him back, or what the CEO seemed to know that he didn't. All he really cared about was that his Grandfather, his guardian, the one stable adult figure in his life was now putting himself at risk. The world froze as the commanding Death Eater roared the order.

"Attack!"

The Orichalcos Gigas launched themselves at the last standing duellist. There were several alarmed cries, and Yugi screamed…

From behind Solomon a burst of light appeared, causing the monsters to cringe away from the glare, halting their attacks in their tracks. The Death Eaters all hissed, throwing up their cloaks over their faces, and the duellists on the ground shielded their eyes. Yugi peered between his fingers in the direction his Grandfather stood. A familiar pentagram began to draw itself in the air behind him. Yugi gasped.

"It can't be…"

The five cards on Solomon's duel disk began to glow.

"Behold, the Forbidden One…" Solomon intoned, before bellowing the name out for all to hear. "EXODIA!"

Everyone was utterly speechless. From within the points of the pentagram appeared a frighteningly powerful monster. It was easily twice the size of the Game Store, its skin the colour of the desert sand, encasing a huge hulking beast that radiated unstoppable power. An Egyptian style headdress topped the creature off, and broken chains dangled from its arms and legs. The light from the pentagram faded away, to reveal a being that made everyone in Duel Monsters tremble in fear.

"Exodia!" Solomon commanded, his voice as strong and powerful as the creature he had just summoned. "Obliterate!"

The Forbidden One raised its two giant arms, and flung a ball of magic at their attackers. Everyone shielded their eyes again as the soldiers of the Orichalcos were vaporised right before their eyes. The Death Eaters were screaming and screaming…

And then everyone fell silent as the Seal began to shrink and collect the fallen souls.

OOO

Thousands of miles away, the Dark Lord let out a scream of fury.

Once again, the bearers had triumphed! And against his newest servants no less. He had been sure that the Orichalcos Gigas would be more than a match for them. As it turned out he was wrong…

Anger coursing through him, he raised his wand and blasted one of the windows, watching the glass shatter with something akin to satisfaction on his face.

No more playing around. It was time to hit the bearers hard, and hit them fast.

And he knew just where to hit them…

OOO

"Okay Grandpa, spill it!"

"Hmm? Spill what?"

Yugi rolled his eyes, and placed his mug of tea on the table. Around him everyone else paused in drinking to listen. The Ministry of Magic (both the Japanese and British) had shown up twenty minutes after the alarm had sounded ("punctual as ever I see," Bakura had remarked sourly). The bodies of the Death Eaters had been collected and each survivor had been questioned multiple times. Healers had been offered, but Yugi, Ryou and Malik had argued that the best healer for their magic was rest to replenish their life force.

But now that the Ministry had finally cleared off, and everyone was seated in the Game Shop kitchen with a hot drink each, Yugi had another pressing issue.

"Where did you get replacement Exodia cards?" the King of Games asked excitedly. "You only had the two that Joey fished out of the water on the boat to Duellist Kingdom the last time I checked."

Solomon gave a smile. "I honestly have no idea where the other three came from. All I know is that I received a package in the mail just after Christmas. No return address or anything. And inside were those three cards. Clearly someone knew those were the ones I was missing, but I don't know who it was who sent them."

It wasn't obvious to anyone else, but Yugi could tell by the twinkle in his eye that his Grandfather was not being entirely truthful, and he saw his gaze slip ever so briefly to the detached CEO in the corner. Yugi quite agreed with his Grandfather's suspicions. He certainly had enough money, and Yugi knew deep down that Kaiba was sorry for ripping up the fourth Blue Eyes, not because he knew how much it meant to Solomon, but because the Blue Eyes meant something to him. Kaiba treasured those dragons for reasons he himself did not quite understand, and Yugi guessed that Exodia might have been his way of trying to repay Solomon for destroying the Blue Eyes. In the aftermath of Death T, after Yami had removed all the traces of evil in Kaiba's heart, Yugi guessed that the idea that he had torn up his favourite monster hurt him badly.

/_Kaiba finds redemption in Exodia_/ Yami commented. /_How ironic_/

Yugi had to agree.

"So what's the damage report?" Joey asked the Ishtars.

"The Ministry said they would have the kitchen window repaired by the time we returned tonight," Ishizu reported. "The Death Eaters ransacked our boxes while we were gone though, presumably to see if we had any further information on the Items lying around."

"And?" Yami asked urgently. To his surprise however, Ishizu and Odion smiled at Malik, who was looking smug.

"You'll never underestimate my wandwork again," he said proudly. "I cast a Thief Curse over all the boxes before we left. I did it in case there was any slight of hand with the delivery men or at the airport. Any artefacts that were stolen will have mysteriously vanished and returned to our living room by now."

"Nice," Joey said approvingly. In spirit form Bakura was snorting with laughter at the Death Eater's stupidity.

"The Ministry is taking charge of shipping everything back to Egypt for us," Ishizu said. "So Odion and I will be staying for a few more days before heading back to Luxor."

"What about you Ryou?" Yugi asked. "You said the Death Eaters broke into your house."

Ryou chewed his lip. "The study door was replaced, and most of the damage to the display cases could be fixed. But the Monster World table is damaged beyond repair."

He spoke in a blank voice. Yugi knew how much that game meant to him, and he could see that Ryou was very upset by its destruction.

"Well to be honest," Malik said. "That was more excitement than I wanted this holiday."

"Let's just be thankful that you were all here to help us," Ishizu pointed out. "Summoning our monsters before the Seal was played would not have been possible and we would have been defenceless."

"What happens next time though?" Yugi voiced the fear that he, Ryou and Malik had been sitting on for quite some time. "When we're back at school and we can't protect you."

"You can't drop out just for us pal," Joey said bracingly. "You guys have a job to do at that school protecting all those kids from this evil nutcase."

"It was their problem long before it was ours!" Bakura snapped. "We agreed out of the goodness of our hearts. And personally, my goodness has been stretched as far as it will go."

"Since when have you been so saintly?" Joey asked sceptically.

"I agree with Bakura," Yami said quietly. "No I have not lost my mind," he added, seeing Joey about to open his mouth. "We agreed to come and help the wizards against Voldemort. But we are no help to them if we are weakened. And by attacking you that is exactly what they are doing to us. We won't let them harm you again, but we cannot rely on Dumbledore's protection any longer."

He looked sternly at everyone in the room, and spoke in a firm voice that allowed for no argument. "We will return to Hogwarts this term, but if they show any signs of targeting any of you again, we are coming straight back to Japan."

OOO

* * *

**Card Specs**

_Name: _Spiria

_Card Type: _Effect Monster

_Image: _A young woman with blue hair, white feathered wings, and a white dress hovering in a starry sky.

_Card Stats: _800/2500. Level 6. Light Attribute. Fairy Type.

_Card Text:_ Once per turn you can select one facedown spell or trap on your opponent's side of the field. Your opponent must then show the selected card to you. The card returns facedown after this effect resolves.

_Spiria is an Egyptian Spirit from the fifth season of the anime. Her attack points, defence points and effect were borrowed with permission from MyAibou, who created them for the 'Identity' series. All creative credit goes to her._

* * *

**A/N: **(is running around the room cheering. Stops, clears throat, and begins to speak)

Before you all ask, no I have not had sugar (much). You know I buggered off for two months to redeem one of my modules this summer? I got the results today, and I passed! So this is a celebration chapter! So on Sept 24th I will be back in Winchester! Woot!

Also, I have a new video up on youtube. It's just some footage of the Red Arrows from where I live, but I like it and hopefully you will too!

OUTAKE BY AUTHOR MEI1105

"Behold, the Forbidden One…" Solomon intoned, before bellowing the name out for all to hear. "EXODIA!"

There was an explosion of light and a million Kuriboh's rained down from the sky, squeaking merrily as they bounced off the roof of the Game Shop and along the pavement. Everyone's jaws dropped instantly.

"What…" Malik muttered.

"…The…" Bakura said.

"Hell?!" Yugi and Yami ended in unison.

The Kuriboh's noticed the opponent, pulled an Exodia formation in front of the Death Eaters, and exploded, taking everything with them.

OOO

Reviews are like chocolate…no I don't mean I want to eat them! I mean they make me smile!


	26. Chapter 26: Seek and Destroy

**Disclaimer:** I, Mei1105, disclaim all ownership of Harry Potter and YuGiOh. I'm borrowing without permission.

**Review Response: **To Peter Kim – I won't be giving the Harry Potter crew their own decks, purely because I don't see them being that interested to be honest. Duelling is the job of the YuGiOh cast, in my opinion, not the Harry Potter cast. I am writing a crossover, but there are certain aspects of the two worlds that I do not want to blend, and certain lines I do not want to cross. I think turning Harry and everyone else into fantastic duellists would be crossing that line. Sorry.

* * *

**Chapter 26: Seek and Destroy**

To give Voldemort his due, he was very sneaky. It had been done so carefully and gradually over the Easter Holidays, that no one had noticed the level of depression, anger and darkness going up and up ever so slowly. For the returning transfers however, arriving back at Hogsmeade station triggered a splitting headache, which had got progressively more aggressive the closer they had got to the castle.

The return trip to Hogwarts had been made with more trepidation than the return after Christmas. None of the three Gryffindor transfers were happy about leaving in the slightest. Their fears of what could happen to their families and friends had been crystallised by the last attack. It now seemed all the more real and all the more possible that they would receive a letter with someone they loved staring back out at them from behind the Seal of Orichalcos. Yami in particular was completely ready to live up to his declaration on the night of the attack. One single sign, and they would all be calling Kaiba to book them a return flight back to Domino.

Their anxiety had only increased as the train bringing the returning students back to the school had pulled up to their destination. None of the three had felt like eating anything from the trolley, not even Malik could be tempted by the sweets. The lingering sense of unease was in all their stomachs, even those of the non-corporal spirits. Yami and Bakura had spent the trip quiet, but occasionally shooting dark meaningful looks at each other, as they both realised what exactly it was having this effect on them.

By the time they were back in the dormitory, Yugi in particular was pale and trembling so hard that he could not stand. As Ryou and Malik led him to the fireplace, they all took note of how subdued everyone in the common room was behaving. Homework was spread out dutifully around most people, and those that were not working were engaged in hushed and serious looking conversations. It was a far cry from the excitement and cheeriness that they had left two weeks ago.

"You look terrible," Ron greeted them as they approached the armchairs by the fire.

"Gee thanks," Yugi snapped, sinking into the chair, rubbing his temples.

"We're serious Yugi," Harry said. "You don't look well at all."

"Is it any wonder?" Ryou asked, rubbing circles on Yugi's back. The King of Games looked very nauseous. At everyone's confused looks, Ryou huffed.

"You can't feel it can you?"

"Feel what?" Hermione asked, looking up from her book.

"When was the last time this holiday that you guys smiled?" Malik asked.

Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other in confusion. None of them were entirely sure where this conversation was going, nor were they sure they wanted to find out considering how terrible Yugi looked. Harry realised with horror that their friends had a point with their question.

"Not at all in the last week," he said, his eyes widening behind his glasses. It was true. The last time he could remember being happy was the previous weekend. He had not noticed it until Yugi and the others had pointed it out, but it was like all the happiness had been slowly drained from Hogwarts.

"What exactly is going on?" he asked.

"Someone's been busy over the holidays," Ryou said. "The castle is swamped with Orichalcos stones. Even Malik and I can feel them now. There's so many of them we could feel them all the way back in Hogsmeade. That was when Yugi started looking ill too. Obviously he's having a harder time of this then we are."

"Not by much," Yugi shook his head, wincing as he did. He should not have shaken so hard, now his vision was spinning. "Now you and Ryou have been in several Orichalcos duels your awareness should have gone up."

Their conversation abruptly stopped as they realised that their friends were looking at them with varying expressions of horror on their faces.

"There's Orichalcum in the castle?" Ron asked. "More of it?"

"Loads more," Yugi said. "I'll bet everyone's been really miserable lately haven't they? Depressed? Angry?"

"I did think it wasn't as noisy as it usually was," Hermione commented. "I've actually been able to study in peace in here instead of going to the library."

"That alone should have clued us in," Ron remarked, ignoring the dirty look Hermione shot him after that.

"What should we do?" Harry asked. "Should we tell…?"

"No!" Bakura took over abruptly causing everyone to jump. While they were getting used to the Yamis and Hikari's switching, it still took Harry, Ron and Hermione by surprise when they did it suddenly. Bakura continued his rant.

"We're not telling Dumbledore anything! We're all sick of that old man's inability to keep his promises! We were almost killed over the holidays. If the shrimp's Grandfather hadn't summoned Exodia we would have all died."

Malik wholeheartedly agreed, but did not have time to vocalise this as he had to leap on Yami to stop the Pharaoh from throttling the Tomb Robber.

"Don't…call…Yugi…a shrimp you soul sucking, parasitic thief!"

"Pharaoh calm down!" Malik snapped in his ear. "It's the Orichalcos making you pissy, not him!"

Yami deflated slightly, but he still sent a death glare Bakura's way. The thief just glared back and got swiftly to his feet.

"Well if you will excuse me oh restrained Light of Ra," he said scornfully. "I'm going on a hunt."

He fished around under Ryou's shirt and pulled the Millennium Ring out.

"I thought you couldn't destroy the rocks?" Ron asked.

"No," Bakura said with forced patience. "But I can at least find them and see if there is a pattern to their location."

"But it's only half an hour till curfew," Hermione pointed out.

"So I won't get caught," Bakura said obviously. "Don't underestimate the King of Thieves."

"Hogwarts is not like Egypt was," Hermione said in her best lecturing voice.

"No its not," Bakura agreed. "Sneaking around here is much easier than raiding the Tombs ever was. Later."

"Be careful," Malik warned as the thief strode confidently towards the portrait.

"Will he be okay?" Harry asked. It was not really Bakura he was concerned for, it was Ryou. Malik shrugged and Yami snorted.

"If he evaded capture in Egypt for as long as he claims I doubt he's in any danger here."

OOO

If Bakura had hoped to get back in time to give Ryou a decent nights sleep he was to be bitterly disappointed with his efforts. Not half an hour after Ryou had thrown his exhausted body into bed, Yugi had woken everyone up screaming from a nightmare. It had taken him a full ten minutes to calm down, and that only occurred when Yami had fazed out onto the bed, looking equally shaken, to calm his Aibou. It had taken a further ten minutes to convince the rest of their dorm mates that their friend did not need to go see Madam Pomfrey. They had then forced a dreamless sleep potion down a reluctant Yugi's throat, and put him back to bed.

It did not take long however for the next drama to unfold.

"No! I won't! No!"

Ryou was up in an instant, crouching by Malik's bed and shaking his friend out of his nightmare.

"Malik! Malik! Wake up! It's just a dream!"

The Egyptian boy had pulled the Rod out from under his pillow, and the Item had begun to glow. Not wanting to wind up stabbed or mind controlled, Ryou had whipped out his own wand and disarmed his friend, who then bolted awake. By now, the rest of the dorm, save for Yugi, was awake once more, and considerably more irritated than they were last time.

"What does a guy have to do to get some sleep around here?" Dean demanded.

"Its three thirty four guys," Harry said groggily. "What's wrong now?"

"Ry…Ryou?" Malik's voice was shaking as his consciousness slowly returned. Ryou had never heard him sound so shaken, and he made to grip his friend's shoulder. The Egyptian hissed and flinched away.

"What's wrong?" Ryou asked urgently.

"My back," Malik muttered through gritted teeth. Ryou gulped, guessing exactly what the problem was, and gently pushed Malik's t-shirt up to see.

"They don't look any different," he said. Malik just continued to shake.

"Felt like they were being re-cut…so much blood…"

Ryou backed off slightly, redrawing the curtains to stop their dorm mates from being able to see anything. Without the language patch, Malik had lapsed into Japanese, with a few Arabic expletives thrown in, so he did not have to worry about them overhearing.

"Everything's on the increase," Ryou said. "The stones. The attacks. The nightmares. You've never had one this bad before…have you?"

Malik looked uncomfortably at the sheets. "The months after Battle City I had some, but they were mostly of…Marik coming back and killing everyone. I only had a few about the initiation. And _never _like this."

Ryou resisted the urge to hug his friend, partly because he knew it would irritate the pain in Malik's back, but mostly because he knew that Malik would not take kindly to sympathy at this point. He didn't want to be mollycoddled. He wanted to deal with this on his own, no matter how much Ryou wanted to help. What he really needed was to rest and forget about it.

"Try and get some sleep," he advised, pulling out an unfinished bottle of dreamless sleep potion. "Have some of this."

As soon as his friend was sound asleep, Ryou clambered out from behind the curtains, and found himself face to face with the rest of the dormitory.

"Is he okay?" Ron yawned.

"He'll be fine," Ryou said firmly, getting back into bed. "It was just a nightmare."

"A nightmare that made him wake up and scream the place down," Seamus put in. "What's going on? First Yugi and now Malik. What's wrong with them both?"

Ryou whirled around. "There's nothing wrong Seamus. Just go back to sleep."

He threw the covers back over him and waved his wand. The lights dimmed automatically.

"_Yugi…Malik…_" Ryou thought as he lay there in the darkness. "_I'm next…"_

He stared at the hues of shadow in the room, slithering off the bedcovers and the curtains. He rolled over and tried to tune everything out. Yugi shifting in his dreamless sleep…Neville's snores…Ron and Harry discussing the nights events in hushed voices…someone's watch…tick…tock…tick…tock…

_The clock downstairs chimed two in the morning. The dark shadows of his room smothered everything. His bare feet crossed the carpet, out into the hall and into the kitchen. He shivered from cold and unease. He couldn't sleep…something felt wrong…_

_/_Hehehe_…/_

_He froze, dread flooding every limb like liquid lead. In the darkness of the kitchen, something glowed faintly from the table. He wanted to run, to scream, anything, but he was frozen to the spot, the Millennium Ring gleaming almost happily, as though pleased that it had finally returned to the one meant to bear it._

"_It…it can't be…Tristan got rid of you!"_

_The laugh cackled again, causing a shock of fear to go up the boy's spine._

"_St…stay away from me!"_

_/_My Landlord is scared_/ the voice chuckled. /_Wimp. Why fear me so? I'm being such a good tenant too. Look, my rent lies just there, paid in full_…/_

_Ryou felt nauseous as a second glow joined the Ring. The Eye of Horus shone vibrantly off the Millennium Item…the Item that Ryou now recognised with sickening clarity. He gasped._

"_That's Pegasus's Eye! How did you get that?! What did you do to him Yami?!"_

_The sinister laugh echoed again._

_/_You don't remember do you Landlord?/ _he_ _snickered_. /Such a shame. You would have loved it I'm sure. After you awoke to see the end of the finals, I took your body out to accomplish a goal of mine. You don't remember a thing…that should have been your first clue!/

_Ryou trembled. Now that he thought about it, he thought he might have blacked out briefly on the balcony in between the end of Pegasus's duel against Yugi and Mokuba waking up…but he had been so tired he thought he had just nodded off…he couldn't have…_

_/_Oh I most definitely could have/ _the spirit boasted_. /Pity I had to lock you back in your soul room. You would have enjoyed it. That fop barely put up a fight against me. His screams were so amusing…almost lyrical actually. His blood tasted like red wine_…/_

_Now Ryou was fighting hard not to be sick. He stumbled backwards towards the door. The Millennium Ring shone in the dark, floating upwards towards the terrified hikari. It latched onto his chest, the spikes digging back into Ryou's skin, sending tiny rivers of blood trailing down, soaking into his pyjama shirt. The boy screamed._

"_Stop it Yami! Please! Stop!"_

_/_It's bed time hikari…I believe I owe you a bedtime story too. Y'know, for betraying me in that Shadow Game, oh smart little Change of Heart you are…/

"_No! Let…me…go! Yami!"_

"Ryou! Wake up!"

The panicking albino shot awake. An alarmed looking Harry and Ron were gathered around the bed, with a sleepy and bedraggled looking Yugi and Malik beside them. Ryou ignored them, wincing at the stinging pain in his chest. Without any thought to his surroundings, he unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt to he could see the Ring hanging beneath. He was very relived to see that the spikes were dangling innocently to the sides, and were not embedded in his skin.

"You had one too huh?" Malik asked bitterly. Ryou nodded, shaking. From the light outside and the fact that all their dorm mates were awake and half dressed, he gathered that it was morning. He did not feel rested in the slightest though.

"What the hell did he do to you?" and Ryou knew instantly that it was not Yugi asking that question. The Pharaoh's voice was thunderous and he was still staring at Ryou's chest, where the five white scars from the Ring stood out behind the object itself. Ryou gulped and buttoned up the shirt. He didn't need to ask who _he _referred to.

"It wasn't really him Yami," he assured. "And it was a long time ago…Malik!"

Malik had apparently got tired of being out of the know, and had pulled the Ring away so he could inspect the scars for himself. He recoiled instantly.

"Good Gods! Those are from the Ring!"

"Really?" Ryou asked sarcastically. "I hadn't noticed."

"Bakura did that didn't he?" Malik demanded, looking utterly appalled by the scars.

"Not exactly…" Ryou said.

"There's no such thing," Yami said firmly. "Either he did it or he didn't."

"It wasn't him," Ryou snapped impatiently. "It was the Ring! Remember what Shadi said? About the Ring testing me? That was the test. It attached itself to me to see whether I was strong enough to overcome its control. It wasn't Bakura."

Even as he said it though, he remembered plenty of times when the Ring spirit had been mad at him and had ordered the Ring to sink itself into its host as a punishment for disobedience. The dream flashed vividly through his mind, and as if on cue, Bakura fazed out next to Ryou.

"If you just came here to grill both of us and you aren't going to offer any comfort," he said pointedly to the surrounding audience. "Then you can all bugger off. Now!"

Yami looked mildly ashamed from his outburst, and retreated to his soul room as Malik backed off the bed, pulling everyone with him. Yugi pulled the curtains shut behind him.

"Will he be okay?"

"He'll be fine," Malik said confidently. "Doesn't matter what Bakura might have done before. They seem to be getting on okay now."

"We're not okay though are we?" Yugi asked anxiously. "We're all having nightmares. This stuff is getting inside our heads and we can't do anything about it. We can't destroy it."

Malik placed a comforting hand on his short friend's shoulder. "We'll figure something out Yugi," he said. "I promise."

Yugi gave a shaky nod. Yami fazed out again and placed his own comforting hand on his partners other shoulder, giving Malik a thankful nod.

"The Ring _attached _itself to him?" Ron asked, looking disgusted. Yugi and Malik jumped. They had momentarily forgotten who else had been listening to the conversation. Harry and Ron were both looking horrified.

"Sort of," Yugi said. "All the Items have a way of testing their owners to see if their worthy. Or if they don't, Shadi comes and tests you for it."

He broke off remembering with a scowl the test he and Yami had been forced to endure. How Professor Yoshimori and Tea had had their soul rooms 'redecorated' by Shadi so they became his mindless puppets. How Tea had stood on the end of that platform dangling so close to her death, while Shadi had forced Yami to undergo all those illusions that had pushed him to his limit. The illusionary Joey had been the final straw, and that had been Shadi's undoing. He underestimated their friendship and the bond it had. Yugi wished bitterly that the rest of the gang was with them right now. He could really use their support right now.

"That's how the Ring tested Ryou," Malik picked up seeing that Yugi was lost in thought.

"By mutilating him?" Harry summarised with a wince.

"Pretty much," Malik shrugged. "Shadi reckons Bakura might have had some influence too. Until recently he was pretty twisted…"

"Why is he so bitter anyway?" Harry asked.

"We're not sure," Yugi shrugged, coming back to the conversation. "He's not exactly talkative, but we think he hates my other self because of something that happened in Egypt. Yami doesn't remember what. Because of that he kinda hates me by default, but I think he respects that I could put the Puzzle together. And as for Malik…I think he actually likes you," he said turning to the Egyptian. Malik shrugged.

"Well I wasn't exactly a model citizen when you first met me," he pointed out, before heading back to his bed and fishing out his books for the day.

"That reminds me," Yugi asked eventually. "How is your back?"

Malik had reluctantly filled Yugi in when he had got out of bed that morning. He had not really wanted to, but he knew that if he didn't, Ryou would tell him anyway. He felt very ashamed for letting the dream get to him so badly, but he tried not to show how much it had really disturbed him. No one needed to know just how much he screamed when he remembered the knife on his skin or the blood sticking to his body…

Angrily, Malik shook the thought away and shrugged once more in answer to Yugi's question. Rolling up his homework and shoving it into a corner of his bag, he replied in what he hoped was a casual voice.

"It's fine now. All the pain wore off when I went to sleep."

It was true, and it seemed to be good enough for Yugi, who nodded and began busying himself with his own books. Harry and Ron exchanged confused looks. They knew that there was more to that conversation than had met the eye, but they were unsure of what it had all meant.

Ryou reappeared from behind the curtains some ten minutes later, looking a bit better, but still miserable. Yugi was not expecting much more to be honest though. It would be hard to find anyone smiling in the school with all the Orichalcos stones present. Even the paintings seemed cheerless, he noted, as they made their way down to breakfast. Conversation between the group flowed while they walked, but there was a conspicuous lack of any smiles.

"So you all had nightmares?" Hermione asked, frowning over her morning issue of the Daily Prophet at the boys. She had been considerably alarmed when all five of them had appeared looking as though they had had very little sleep at all. Between yawns, Harry and Ron had explained the situation.

"Do we need to repeat ourselves?" Yugi asked weakly.

"And you're sure that they are linked to whoever has been filling the castle with Orichalcos stones?" Hermione asked. "It couldn't just be a coincidence?"

"Be serious Hermione," Malik snapped. "Unless there's a colony of Dementors living beneath the school, which I highly doubt, nothing else could cause us to relive the worst experiences of our lives."

Hermione looked taken aback at his snappishness, and she muttered that she was just trying to exploit all the possibilities. They all were grateful for her rational thinking, but right now, none of them were particularly keen to be reminded of the previous night.

"Did you manage to find any of it last night?" Hermione asked Ryou, but the boy knew she was really asking Bakura.

"Plenty," he answered for his yami. "Someone obviously knew what they were doing. The bulk of it is concentrated around all the different dormitories, the base of the Gryffindor tower in particular."

Ron frowned at his sausages as though they were the ones responsible. "Why am I suddenly seeing Slytherin fingerprints all over this?"

Harry also looked suspicious upon hearing that most of the magic was centred around their dorm. Malik however shook his head.

"Slytherin's might be cunning, but they're not stupid. They wouldn't put Orichalcum near them if they knew the effects. Just look at them now. They're just as depressed as we are."

He was right, they all noticed, turning their heads towards the table on the other side of the room. The Great Hall, which was usually noisy and full of chattering students, was far less animated than usual. The Slytherin table was no exception. Most of the students looked as though they had come to their parents' funerals.

"We're not that different are we?" Ryou muttered. "We're all trying to escape the darkness."

"Hey have you guys noticed who's missing?" Ron asked. He had been actively scanning the Slytherin table for wrongdoing, and had not heard Ryou's comment. Everyone followed his line of vision to see Crabbe and Goyle…but strangely enough, no Malfoy.

"Now that is strange," Hermione agreed.

"Maybe he's sick," Ryou shrugged, and there was a hopeful note in his voice that indicated that Bakura had influenced that particular comment.

"Or maybe he's the one that's doing it," Ron spelled out, sensing his point was not being made clearly.

"It is possible," Harry agreed. "It would definitely explain where he is."

"Okay why are you so sure it's Malfoy?" Malik asked. "I know he's a git, but you're acting like he's the next Voldemort or something."

"His father is a Death Eater," Harry said instantly.

"He calls Hermione a Mudblood," Ron added, feeling that his fact alone overshadowed the rest. Hermione turned slightly pink at Ron's immediate jump to her defence. Malik meanwhile, rolled his eyes.

"It's a word Ron. Get over it. Hermione clearly does. And Harry, you can't just judge someone based on their parents. Believe me," he said firmly, as Harry opened his mouth to retort. "If you had judged me on my father, you wouldn't come near me. I promise you that."

"Yeah but we know you," Ron said. "And you might be a bit nuts from time to time, but you wouldn't go round carving hieroglyphs in our skin…"

"Yes thank you!" Malik said irritably. "Moving away from the nightmare fodder…"

"You brought it up!" Ron defended.

"Yes and now I'm dropping it," Malik said shortly, picking up another piece of toast and getting to his feet. "See you all later. I'm going to Ancient Runes."

And he set off out of the hall, looking extremely moody.

"I shouldn't have said anything," Ron said.

"No you shouldn't have," Hermione agreed, but she couldn't be too condescending after he had defended her earlier.

Yugi and Ryou looked uncomfortably at their breakfast.

"His father does sound twisted," Ron commented. "You can't argue with that."

"His father _was_ twisted," Yugi said firmly, and he was alarmed to feel a wave of shame coming off Yami.

/_Don't you start as well_/ he thought firmly, taking the Pharaoh by surprise.

/_I wasn't going to_/ Yami defended. /_I was just thinking that if Malik should blame anyone it should be me. It was in my name that the Ishtars were forced to stand guard over that Tomb and bear the secret to my power…_/

Yugi gave a mental role of his eyes. This was a topic that he and Yami had beaten to death with the Puzzle several times. Yami did feel guilty, more so since Malik had become their friend. Though the Egyptian boy had never resented Yami for it since Battle City, it had not stopped Yami from feeling it himself. He had felt the least they could do was be friends with Malik, after everything he had suffered through.

_/It was not you who ordered the Ishtars to guard the Tomb Other me_/ Yugi reminded him. /_That, according to Ishizu, was Seto's command after you were sealed into the Puzzle. You never knew, and I know and Malik knows you would never order something so barbaric. Besides, Ron is right. Malik's father was twisted. You've heard how he treated Odion when they were living in the tombs_/

There was a mental sigh from the elder.

/_You're right Yugi. I didn't mean to bring this up again…particularly not when we have, as you so eloquently put it 'beaten it to death with the Puzzle' so many times_/

/_Haha_/ Yugi deadpanned, and there was a chuckle from the amused Pharaoh.

/_Even with the Orichalcos around, you will always be able to make me smile hikari_/

Yugi rejoined the conversation as Ryou gave him a gentle tap on the shoulder. Harry was looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You were speaking to the Pharaoh weren't you?"

Yugi nodded, but said no more, despite the fact that Harry and Ron looked as though they wanted to hear if he had any ideas. Ryou understood. There were some things you could discuss with no one but your dark...even if Bakura was not the most patient person to spill your problems too.

"Morning Ginny," Hermione said, trying to sound bright, but failing miserably. The redhead sighed as she sat down next to them.

"Morning everyone," Ginny said, helping herself to toast.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, noticing immediately that something was up. Something that was causing a definite contrast to Ginny's usually bubbly personality. The youngest Weasley looked very gloomy. She let out another miserable sigh before speaking.

"Zara was killed over Easter."

Harry felt amplified dread settle over him as he remembered the outgoing Slytherin girl whom Ginny had befriended at the DA meetings.

"How?" Hermione asked, completely abandoning her newspaper, looking utterly horrified at this news. Ginny chewed her lip.

"Her family vanished a few days after the start of the holidays. Zara wasn't on the Hogwarts Express yesterday so the Ministry checked it out. They found their bodies last night. Looks like the Death Eaters got to them."

She looked very upset and Hermione shifted over to comfort her. Harry wanted to add his own condolences, but something else occurred to him. He quickly turned around and began scanning the Slytherin table again, but this time for a different reason. He looked back at Ginny.

"Cali's not at the Slytherin table…" he said awkwardly. Ginny shook her head.

"She and her mother haven't been seen since she went home. They haven't found the bodies yet, but they say there's not much hope…"

She looked so depressed at the loss of two of her friends that the matter was not pushed any further.

"Killing his own house…" Ron muttered as he and Harry left the table some ten minutes later. Hermione, Ryou and Ginny had headed off to their own classes, leaving Yugi to make tracks to the library. "That doesn't sound like something You-Know-Who would do normally, does it?"

Harry wondered what part of Voldemort's takeovers one would consider 'normal', however he just nodded.

"Maybe the Orichalcos is influencing him like it is us."

"Maybe," Ron agreed. "But still. Most of his Death Eaters children are in that house. Makes no sense to turn them against him, specially if most of them want to be Death Eaters themselves."

"Remember what Malik said Ron," Harry warned. "While I agree most Slytherins aren't exactly candidates for an Order of Merlin, Malik is right. We shouldn't assume that they want to be Death Eaters just because their parents are."

Ron just shrugged offhandedly.

"Besides," Harry continued. "We know Cali's father betrayed Voldemort by stealing his Orichalcum supply. I doubt he'd be any more lenient towards her and her mother. Zara was probably dragged in by default. You remember what Cali said the first evening they showed up at the meeting. '_If you aren't a Death Eater in that house you're just as bad as everyone else'_."

Ron still did not look wholly convinced, but Harry was thinking hard about what he had just said.

"_Never thought I'd hear myself defending Slytherin_," he thought. _"Guess there's a first time for everything."_

OOO

Malik prowled through the corridors like a big cat on the hunt for its next meal. Only he was not after a meal. There was still about half an hour to go before lunch, and he had swallowed a batch of chocolate that he had been hoarding in his trunk since the last Hogsmeade trip. Strangely enough the chocolate helped repress the gloom spread by the Orichalcos and his dream, and he felt much better than he had done earlier that morning.

So with emergency chocolate in his back pocket, alongside his deck and the Millennium Rod, he marched off down the corridor intent on getting some results before it was time for him to head down to the Great Hall for lunch. He was keeping an eye out for the person who was stowing the fragments of Orichalcum around the school. He would be damned if these nightmares continued for any longer than was necessary. Not only for his own benefit, but for that of his friends too. None of them could afford to be stuck in a sleep deprived, zombie-like state when Voldemort could make a move against them or their relatives any day.

No, they would not be unprepared this time.

Turning the corner sharply he thought hard. He was on the fifth floor, not far from the Muggle Studies department. He knew from Bakura's sketchy map, that the Thief had thrown together during break, that the bulk of the Orichalcos stones were centred around the dorms, meaning that the closest batch were two floors up, surrounding the Gryffindor tower. Sure enough, the darkness did not threaten to smother him as it had done the previous night, and he took a deep breath, savouring his temporary relief.

A broken sob jerked him out of his little act of appreciation, and he turned sharply toward the noise. He was facing one of the many boys' bathrooms in the school. The door was locked and an "Out of Order" sign had been tacked to the door. Malik snorted. As if that was going to keep him out.

Checking that he was alone, and safe from the prying eye of a teacher, or worse still, Peeves, Malik squatted down so he was eye level with the keyhole. Fishing the Millennium Rod out from the back of his robes, he began picking the lock of the door with the blade of the knife. It took him about forty seconds until he heard a satisfying click. Smirking a little in satisfaction, he pushed the door open silently and slipped in, hoping that the "Out of Order" sign would serve its purpose until he discovered who was in here.

He was rather surprised. Of all people he had expected to find in tears in a bathroom, Draco Malfoy had been bottom of the list. The Slytherin was, to be frank, a complete mess. He looked as though he had not slept in days. Black rings circled his eyes, which were red and puffy, and he looked paler than usual. His usually sleek blonde hair was out of place, and he was shaking as he scooped up water from the sink and splashed it on his face, before glaring at his reflection in an angry manner.

"Orichalcos got you down?" Malik asked, leaning casually against the wall with his arms folded. Malfoy jumped and leaped away from the sink as though he had just seen a cobra. His glare was there in an instant, but it did not faze Malik in the slightest. It was hard to look threatening when you had water running down your face, and red puffy eyes.

"What the hell do you want Ishtar?" Malfoy spat. Malik shrugged.

"It's a public restroom," he said simply. "Forgive me for showing a slight hint of concern toward a fellow human who is obviously pretty upset about something…"

"I'm not upset!" Malfoy snapped. Malik snorted in disbelief.

"Sure. And Voldemort's decided to give up on world domination and retire to a cottage with five budgerigars and a cat that tries to eat them."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow and gave Malik a strange look, but the Egyptian had seen the corners of his lips twitch slightly. Not that Malik could blame him. It _was_ a very entertaining image after all.

"So go on then," Malik said, rather enjoying the power he felt over the Slytherin. He quickly brushed the dominating feeling aside though. He wanted answers, not to break the kid. "What's the problem?"

"Why d'you care?" Malfoy asked, turning back to his reflection in the mirror. Malik shrugged.

"Like I said, concern for a fellow human. Don't look at me like that," he added, seeing the expression of disbelief etched into Malfoy's face. "You might be a bothersome git half the time, but you're like, _our _bothersome git. You haven't said a word to any of us for months. It's slightly alarming."

"Thanks for the sympathy," Malfoy said sarcastically. "I'm so touched to be labelled a 'bothersome git'."

"You are, I can't help it," Malik shrugged, blinking and shifting his weight onto his other foot. "So what's the problem? Because as weird as it sounds, you not being a pain in the ass is sort of a cause for concern."

Malfoy looked pensively at his reflection.

"Let me guess," Malik said thoughtfully. "Is it something to do with the Orichalcos?"

The Slytherin flinched slightly.

"You knew it was back then?" he finally said. Malik nodded.

"Kept all of us up half the night," he admitted. "Nightmares," he added upon seeing Malfoy's confused face. The blonde Slytherin quickly turned pale.

"You too?!" he gasped. Malik nodded and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked. "You were under the impression that you were the only one who had a bad life?"

"Of course not!" Malfoy retorted. "I live in a castle with Potter for Merlin's sake! I know there are people worse off than me."

"So why the big issue about the Orichalcos?" Malik asked. "And now I think about it, why aren't you all cheery about this? I would have thought the idea of misery inflicting the castle would thrill you."

Malfoy scowled.

"It's your fault," he muttered.

"Come again?" Malik asked, cupping a hand around his ear, though he had heard perfectly well. In truth he was very confused.

"I said, it's your fault," Malfoy said clearly. "Well…actually it's that Pharaoh's fault."

"What's Yami done to cause you to go all dejected?" Malik asked, genuinely curious now. Malfoy seemed to shrink on himself.

"It was him…" he muttered. "Him and whatever he did to me that day…whatever it was that put me in that coma."

The confusion on Malik's face was wiped off in a single move, and replaced with a look of understanding. Malfoy had to be talking about the Penalty Game.

"I was stuck there," Malfoy whispered, and Malik was startled to see fear shining through the re-emerging tears in the other boys eyes. "No one came for me…I felt so alone…"

"Yeah Penalty Games will do that to you," Malik said, remembering all the suffering his darker half had put him through after he and Bakura had lost the Shadow Game on Kaiba's blimp and cast them both into the darkness.

"Since I woke up from that place," Malfoy was speaking more normally now. "I've felt isolated. Even everyone in my house…none of them get it. They've never been in that place like I have, and had all their life's wrongs thrown in their face when they have nothing else but their past mistakes to brood on. None of them understand me…so I've been avoiding them…and now I'm more alone than I was before."

It took a while before Malik realised what the stinging in his chest was. He realised with shock that he was actually feeling sorry for Malfoy. While the Slytherin was still the same person, the Shadow Game seemed to have done what they were supposed to do – pull out all the weaknesses of that person and force them to confront them. Malfoy had confronted his own weakness. But it still seemed a bit of an extreme reaction for him to be in tears about it.

"So you're all bent out of shape because you're lonely?" Malik asked. Malfoy shrugged.

"Partially," he said. "I didn't go home at Easter…Father's angry at me…"

"Because your little mission with the Orichalcos failed?" Malik summarised. "And now you've been stuck in the castle with all this negative emotion flying around and you're feeling sorry for yourself?"

The Slytherin just shrugged again. It seemed all the fight had gone out of him. "Pretty much. I knew someone was putting it around the castle, but I don't know who…"

He trailed off again, looking conflicted. Malik recognised the look as someone who was debating whether or not to tell the truth.

"He wrote to me before the holidays," Malfoy continued eventually, and Malik took the 'he' to refer to his father. "He said the Dark Lord wanted me to be the one to fill the castle with stones. A way of making up for my failure before Christmas. I said I was staying here."

"Why did you turn it down?" Malik asked, his curiosity peaking again. "Because no offence, I always got the impression that your family liked playing servant to Voldemort…"

"Have you not been listening?" Malfoy snapped angrily. "My family are wrong! That Penalty Game the Pharaoh put on me made me realise that."

Malik was genuinely stunned to hear Malfoy of all people talk down about his family. It was like someone had flipped the world and all its rules on its head. It was something he had not expected in a million years, and he bet no one would ever believe it had happened.

"My father…" Malfoy spat the name out. "I hate him…for ever putting those ideas into my head…for telling me that becoming a Death Eater was my family duty…"

This conversation sounded extremely familiar to Malik, and he realised in horror that he felt exactly the same way about his own father and becoming a Tomb Keeper.

"Its still no reason to feel sorry for yourself," he said finally.

"Yes it is," Malfoy said shaking his head. "It's what everyone expects of me. And I can't tell anyone, because everyone in my house is in the same position. No one understands…"

Malik snorted. "What d'you mean 'no one understands'? You think you're the only one with a rat bastard for a father? Just look at mine."

Malfoy snorted. "Oh yeah? Did your father force you to join the allegiance of a man who wants to rule the world and kill people for his own amusement?"

"No," Malik shook his head. "When I was ten my father pinned me to a table, took a hot knife and carved hieroglyphs into my back because it was supposed to be my _destiny_."

Malfoy looked considerably alarmed. "Okay…I guess that's worse…"

"It doesn't matter which one is worse!" Malik sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "Look. From what I can see, that Penalty Game cleared a few things up for you didn't it?"

Malfoy nodded slowly and Malik ploughed on.

"Penalty Games aren't easy to get out of," he explained. "You've been given a second chance Malfoy. And now you've got a choice. Either you follow your father's wishes, do something you know deep down is wrong, and go back to how you were before the Penalty Game. Or you can get off the floor of this bathroom, tell your father to shove his pretentious head up his arse, and you get back up again on your own two feet."

"Is that what you did?" Malfoy asked, with a raised eyebrow. Malik nodded.

"Is it really that easy?" the blonde Slytherin asked. "To get back on your feet?"

Malik faltered.

"Not always," he admitted eventually. "After all the shit with my father, I went astray for a long time. I eventually had to fight…well everything that was dark about me. But once that was over, things got back to normal. Trust me, they will do the same for you."

He checked his watch and sighed.

"It's going to be lunch soon. I'll see you around. But think about what I said."

He turned and headed toward the door, smiling to himself. Who knew, he could offer decent advice!

"Malik," it was the first time Malfoy had ever called him by his given name, and the Egyptian stopped on the threshold of the door.

"Yes?"

"How do I fight everything that's dark about me?" Malfoy asked. "I can't see it. I don't know how to defeat it."

Malik smiled.

"You've already beaten it. That was the point of the Penalty Game."

OOO

Voldemort stood alone in the middle of his chamber. Despite the fire in the grate, the room was freezing, but cloaked as he was in the magic of the Orichalcos, the Dark Lord did not feel it. Slithering along the back of the unoccupied chair was Nagini, hissing in displeasure, missing the comfort of her Master's touch.

Ignoring his pet, the Dark Lord held the chain around his neck and tapped into the vast power that the stone around his neck granted him. He was pleased as the vision began to generate. His unwilling servant had done their job well, using the stones to get inside the castle and strategically planting them exactly where he wanted them – all while under a very powerful Imperius Curse of course.

He could feel the flow of magic between the stones and his targets. He could sense their emotions as they went about their business. Mutou was uneasy he could tell, but what was even more satisfying to him was how badly he could sense Bakura and Ishtar were suffering from it. He had not expected their resistance to the stones to crumble so easily.

Turning away from the Item bearers, he focused on their companions. Ah yes…he had sensed all three of them had doubts about the bearers. Potter especially was having a very hard time trusting those two spirits. Apparently he had grown a bit of common sense since the events at the Ministry the previous summer. Fighting down the wave of irritation that he felt as he recalled that particular failure, Voldemort turned back to the task at hand, a smirk on his face. Potter and his friends would soon learn all they wanted to know about their so-called friends. He would make sure of it.

"Great darkness, I call upon you," he intoned. "Use the pathways set before you and force the Bearers to face their pasts."

OOO

"Should be about…here," Bakura said stopping in the middle of the corridor. Behind him, Yugi, Malik, Harry, Ron and Hermione pulled to a halt and scanned the corridor curiously.

Dragging their Gryffindor friends along had not been part of Bakura's plan. He had originally intended that Malik be his only companion. He liked the Tomb Keeper, however much he tried to appear indifferent to everyone, and Malik was a useful ally. However once the Pharaoh got wind of the plan he had insisted on coming too. Bakura's irritation had only increased when Harry had overheard what they were up to and demanded that they join them. Bakura was fuming. He did not need babysitters damn it!

"I see it!" Yugi said suddenly, pointing towards one of the statues set into the wall. Sure enough, the tiny green stone had been inserted into the back of the head, almost unnoticeable unless you knew what you were looking for. Malik was there instantly, pulling his gloves on and reaching up for the top of the statue. Using the knife of the Rod as leverage, he popped the stone out and added it to a bag hooked into his belt, which was already carrying several stones that had been plucked from their hiding places.

"We should be charging Dumbledore for this little service," Malik muttered.

"Yeah, well we're not," Yugi said firmly folding his arms and giving them both a look that reminded everyone strongly of the Pharaoh.

"Yeah, because you and Ryou are too damn nice for your own good," Bakura said irritably, shaking the Ring, which pointed off to another section of the corridor. Yugi was there first, feeling behind a tapestry.

"Got another one," he said, taking his own gloved hands and pulling back the heavy woven cloth. He added the stone to the bag before the group carried on down the corridor.

"So what's the point of all this?" Ron asked. "Because I was under the impression that this stuff is still going to affect everyone no matter where in the castle it is."

"It will," Yugi nodded. "But if we move it away from the dormitories, it might just lessen the effects a little. And Dumbledore is making arrangements for the Ministry to remove it from the castle. I think they want to run some tests on it."

It was clear from the expression on his face that Yugi did not approve of this idea in the slightest. Though the Ministry had clear instructions on handling the rocks from Dumbledore, it was still too volatile a substance to be testing. Plus anyone could be tempted by the power it offered, and the last thing they wanted was another corrupted person, almost as evil as Voldemort on the loose.

"This is the end of the corridor," Bakura observed. "There's one more piece here."

His five companions immediately began scouring the area for the glowing stone. Bakura dropped the Ring against his chest.

/_We should call it a night after this. Everyone looks exhausted_/

Ryou fazed out next to him.

/_Yeah, and Malik's looking a little sick handling that bag_/

Sure enough, Malik looked pale under his tan and he kept pinching the bridge of his nose as if to ward off a headache. Clearly carrying that many stones was starting to influence him.

/_I'll take it off him once we find this one_/ Bakura volunteered. /_Ra knows we're going to need all the rest we can get tonight. D'you want to stay in your soul room tonight? I'll make sure we get back in one piece_/

/_That's fine Yami_/ Ryou said shaking his head. /_You need sleep too_/

Bakura shrugged and turned to help in the examining of the room, when behind him Yugi suddenly collapsed to the floor, looking extremely nauseous. Malik hurried to his side, before doubling over too. Bakura felt a wave of sickness flood his being and his eyes began to water.

"What _is_ that?!" Malik asked weakly.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, kneeling beside Bakura, who growled and shook her off irritably. There was a shift in the air, and the stones in the bag around Malik's waist suddenly began to glow, causing everyone to throw their hands up over their eyes as the light blinded them.

"What's going on?!" Harry demanded, pulling Yugi up from where he was slumped against the floor.

"The stones…" Yugi rasped out. "Someone's…activating the stones…"

And the corridor, the stones, and all six students, vanished from sight.

* * *

OOO

**A/N: **And she pulls another crappy ending out of her hat. It's easy to see the parts in this story where my inspiration died. I am so tired of that little "uncompleted" sign at the bottom of this story. It makes me sit in front of my laptop and poke chapters 30, 32 and 33 and whine "why aren't you written yet?!". I want to finish this story! The end is so close I can almost taste it (it tastes like Ben and Jerry's chocolate fudge brownie ice cream). I know what's going to happen and I want to tell everyone what happens so I can sit back and feel proud of myself, and start preparing for my next projects like this years NaNoWriMo (which I WILL be doing again this year, feel free to add me as a writing buddy if you want).

Anyway, news from your whining authoress – I am back in Winchester for my third year (flight was horrible by the way), so my writing time will probably be restricted. But I have set myself a timetable for my writing and I want to have finished writing this story by October 31st, in time for the start of NaNoWriMo. Of course I won't get the chapters posted this quickly, but once the story is finished and betaed I'll stick them up quicker. I'm hoping this might be completely posted by Christmas at the very latest.

Anyway, enough out of my mouth. Don't forget to review!


	27. Chapter 27: The Way Things Were

**Disclaimer: **I own Akila, the rest of Bakura's siblings, and a few random doctors. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling or Kazuki Takahashi.

**Warnings: **Death. Mass murder. Sadism. Blood…fun for the whole family! Shouldn't be unexpected if you've read the manga though.

**Reviewer Response: **To Essi – (grins) and lo the authoress spoke unto her unpunctual reviewer, and said, "I was much comforted by your honest message and joyous to know that even though I have left the rock and rejoined the cathedral, my wish has not been forgotten. Though by the time you read this reply it may have been many moons since you posted your review, I hope the sentiment will still be the same".

But you know I hope my darling dragon, that you and our beloved unicorn are the reasons for my writing. You two are my touchstones, and I do not care if it takes you the rest of our lives to read this story, because without you and onee-chan, it probably would never have come to exist in the first place.

And as I am sure you shall finish NaNo, I am holding out for the day when your brother _does _turn into a pigeon, for then we can capture him and use him to deliver our letters, and save us the hassle of buying stamps!

Everyone enjoy this really long chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 27: The Way Things Were**

Waking up from a blackout is never pleasant. You know you have just spent an unknown length of time, possibly at someone else's mercy, completely unable to defend yourself. Having been left in such a vulnerable state; who knows what could have happened to you?

It was with this trepidation that Malik woke up. He felt groggy as though he had just spent the last year of his life in hibernation. One glance told him that he did not recognise the place surrounding him, but he knew instantly that it was not the real world. For starters, the real world usually had sky, not a vast expanse of whiteness in its place.

The other defining factor, was that both Yami and Bakura's spiritual forms were visible, separated from their hosts as they were in their soul rooms or the Shadow Realm.

Next to the two unconscious spirits, lay their counterparts in a similar state. Harry, Ron and Hermione too were lying unresponsive not too far away. With a jolt, Malik remembered the stones that had been attached around his belt, and realised in horror that they were gone. He groaned.

"Bakura's not going to be happy about this," he muttered.

"I'm not going to be happy about what?" came a guttural growl from Malik's left. The Egyptian groaned again as Bakura sat up and began shaking Ryou.

"So…" came Ron's clueless voice. "Anyone got a clue what happened?" Behind him, Harry sat up slowly, taking stock of their rather strange, apparently non-existent surroundings.

"The Orichalcum is gone," Malik said. "I think it must have activated…"

"It can't have activated by itself," Yami muttered sitting up and moving to check over Yugi. Since moving quickly made him feel dizzy, he crawled to his Aibou's side, and was relieved to hear him stir.

"Are you alright Yugi?"

"Think so," his partner replied, sitting up slowly and taking stock of their surroundings. "Where are we?"

"What's the deal?" Harry asked suddenly. "We can see both of you." He pointed at the spirits.

"The Orichalcos is powerful magic," Yami explained. "Clearly wherever we are now isn't the real world. Like the Shadow Realm only our spirits are present here."

"Oh…" Harry said slowly. "So where are our bodies?"

"In temporary stasis, since we are here," Yami replied. This wasn't really a very elaborate explanation, but they had more pressing matters to attend to.

"So where exactly is here?" Hermione asked. "And how did we get here?"

"Someone…and I don't think we need to guess who," Ryou pointed out. "Must have activated the stones and brought us…wherever here is."

"Brilliant," Bakura huffed. "So Voldemort's decided to fuck with us some more has he?"

"Oooh just wait till I get to him," Malik hissed, with all the venom of a spitting cobra. "I'll have the Rod on him before he can say 'Bad Trip'."

"That wouldn't work," Harry informed him. "Voldemort can do Legilemency. His mind is inaccessible to anyone…well, almost anyone."

Malik growled, but Yugi remembering the conversation he had had with Harry before the Easter holidays, remembered what his friend had said about the connection between his mind and the Dark Lord's and guessed Harry was referring to himself.

"I think…" Yami said slowly, helping Yugi to stand up. "This has happened to me before…"

"It has?" Yugi asked in confusion. Yami shot him an uncomfortable and slightly apologetic look.

"It was after I lost you Yugi," he explained. "During my rematch with Raphael, the Seal of Orichalcos generated a vision of his past. The same thing happened when Kaiba and I duelled Dartz. He showed us the destruction of Atlantis."

"Good story Pharaoh," Bakura said. "But I don't see any visions here…"

He spoke too soon. Almost immediately after the words had left the thief's lips, the white mist surrounding them began to spin and swirl like clouds caught in a storm. Yugi immediately moved closer to Yami, who took his partners shoulder protectively. Unnoticed by anyone else, Ryou and Bakura did the same.

Finally the activity died down and everyone was stuck silent at the image that unfolded before them.

"It's…" Bakura breathed.

"Egypt!" Malik said in excitement, taking in the vast expanse of beautiful desert around them.

"How do you know its Egypt?" Hermione asked sceptically. "It could be any desert in the world."

"It just…feels like it," Malik said, taking a deep breath and smiling wider still.

Yami too was observing their surroundings with an awed expression on his face. He too knew it was Egypt. He didn't know how he knew, he just did. He could sense the faint tugs at the back of his memory that told him he knew this feeling very well. The desert was familiar. Everything about this vision was familiar. Yugi seemed to sense this and he took the Pharaoh's hand reassuringly.

"They'll come back," he assured him. "One day, you'll be able to remember everything."

Yami smiled thankfully at his partner. Ryou meanwhile had sensed something else.

/_Yami? What's wrong?_/

/_This is wrong…_/ the thief muttered. /_We shouldn't be here_/

His darker half's unease put Ryou instantly on edge. Sure none of them really wanted to be here. It was creepy as hell, and he did definitely not like the idea that Voldemort was doing something to influence this little excursion, but Bakura sounded more disturbed than the rest of them put together.

"Look!" Malik said suddenly, pointing off into the distance. Everyone turned.

Coming over the next ridge was a horse, moving at a fast trot, with two very small riders on its back. The larger of the two sat behind the smaller, with their hands gripping the reins. The horse whinnied and grunted a little as they came into view.

"Can they see us?" Harry asked, remembering his past experiences with visions.

"No they can't," Yami shook his head. Ryou meanwhile, was catching a wave of disbelief and pain coming from Bakura, and it instantly put him on guard. He took a long hard look at the approaching figures and gasped in realisation.

The figures were both children, the larger of the two looking to be about eight, and the younger at about four. Both were dressed in ragged tunics, with hoods covering their faces and hair, leaving only the tanned skin of their arms and legs visible. Over the back of the horse, a full waterbag was dangling, slapping against the horses rear every time it moved.

The taller of the two pulled the horse into a slower stride, becoming more alert than they had before. Now that they were closer, everyone could hear the figure in the front, who's voice they now recognised as that of a young girl.

"Okay, I got another," the smaller said. "I spy with my little eye…"

"Sand," the elder interrupted quickly, in a tone that stated quite clearly that he was bored of this game.

"Actually I was going to say rock this time," the girl shrugged, noticing that something was wrong as the boy behind her pulled the horse to a dead stop. "Big brother?"

The boy said nothing, but straightened up further and pulled his hood away from his head. Everyone present gasped.

"No way!" Malik gasped.

/_Yami…_/ Ryou's question died somewhere between his brain and his lips.

/_Yes Ryou_/ Bakura answered, though it sounded like every word caused him pain. /_That's me_/

Eight year old Bakura sat rigid on the back of the horse, his head held high trying to discern the threat that had made him stop so suddenly. His spiky white hair brushed his shoulders, making it just a little shorter than Ryou's was. Unlike his present spiritual state, eight year old Bakura did not have the three scars on his cheek, nor did he have red eyes – rather they were a sharp purplish blue. As the girl in front of him pulled down her own hood, her own identical eyes were revealed. Her face was the same shape as her brother's, but her nose was slightly smaller. Strangely enough, her hair was jet black, unlike Bakura's own white, a fact Ryou was quick to pick up on.

/_Your hair…_/ he didn't get any further.

/_Different father's hikari_/ Bakura explained briefly, not taking his eyes of his sister for a second.

"Kura?" the girl asked. "What's wrong?"

Bakura's left hand dropped the reins, and was placed over the confused girls eyes. "Close your eyes Akila. What do you sense?"

From the way her brow wrinkled, everyone knew she was frowning at her brother's strange behaviour, but Akila went with it and thought hard for a second before she gasped.

"Smoke!" she said. "Something's burning! And it's coming from the village!"

Bakura nodded grimly, before kicking the horse back into action. Strangely enough, the spectators seemed to move with them, as the vision dragged them along.

"So this is Voldemort's idea of breaking us is it?!" Bakura spat angrily. "Making us relive the worst parts of our lives!"

No one knew how to respond, but Ryou sidled closer to his yami, and gently took his hand.

/_You're not alone this time_/ he said quietly. Bakura stiffened slightly, and he didn't respond.

The horse had just been pulled to a stop and both riders dismounted swiftly. The siblings were standing on a ridge overlooking a small settlement. It was clear from the view they had that it was not a thriving village. There were about twenty or thirty buildings, most of which were in a state of disrepair, and there was a very strong scent of smoke coming from several of them. The telltale flicker and glow of the flames confirmed that. Both siblings looked horrified, as did the spectators.

"Welcome to Kul Elna," Bakura spat to the watching audience. "Enjoy it while you can, because it's not sticking around for long."

A gasp drew their attention back to the flashback.

"Kura the village is on fire!" Akila said in alarm. Bakura was already observing the buildings, his own face pinched in worry. He scanned the streets for any movement, and he caught in the form of several figures moving about the entrance of one of the underground passages. The villagers usually used it as an escape route if bandits ran through there. This time however, the villagers were lined up with their hands above their heads, being poked and prodded into keeping still by their captors.

"Royal guards," eight-year-old Bakura spat with venom in his voice. "Bastards!"

"What do they want with us?" Akila asked, fright laced into her voice as she gripped the horse's reins.

"Looks like they're still rounding everyone up," Bakura observed as another group of guards shepherded a few scared looking women and children toward the entrance to the tunnels. Bakura seemed to make up his mind in that instant, and began heading toward the cliff side.

"Where are you going?!" Akila asked, her voice going up several notches.

"To find out what's going on," Bakura said simply. "Stay with the horse Akila. I'll come back."

"No!" the girl sounded terrified at the thought of her brother going anywhere near their home. "It's too dangerous! Please Kura, don't go!"

Bakura turned and placed his hands on both her shoulders. "Mother might still be down there. I'm going to get her out before they find her!"

The little girl stamped her foot with a surprising amount of force for a four year old. "They'll catch you too! They'll kill you or sell you or do whatever it is they've come here to do to us!" Tears welled up in her eyes. "I don't want to lose you! Please big brother!"

Bakura knelt down to her eye level. "You won't lose me sister. I promise. Just stay here, and don't let them see you!"

He took off toward the village, leaving a shaken looking Akila behind him. Again the scene shifted, taking them along with younger Bakura's progress. The elder Bakura watching however kept his eyes firmly trained on the little girl until it was impossible to distinguish her any longer.

/_I should have stayed with her_/ he thought.

/_You had to save the rest of your family_/ Ryou said, already knowing where these events were leading, and understanding his darker half's anguish. Bakura let out a mental snort.

/_My mother and my other two sisters yes, no questions asked. My step-father could rot in Ammit's belly for all I cared_/

Ryou didn't ask. Bakura's emotions were already frayed to breaking point, and he didn't want to provoke him into an outburst. No one else in the group of spectators seemed to want to look at either of them.

/_This was Bakura's village?_/ Yugi asked in wonder. Yami nodded.

/_Apparently so_/ he said. /_This is the worst day of his life according to the Orichalcos. And the reason why he is so bitter toward me_/

Yugi squeezed his darker half's hand, though whether this was to reassure Yami or himself neither were sure.

Bakura scrambled down the side of the cliff like a monkey and crouched in the shadow of one of the houses. The roof of the building was on fire, but he didn't flinch at all when part of it caved in with a crack. As soon as he was sure there were no guards, he padded swiftly down the dusty street and towards another section of buildings. Everyone present had to admire his stealth; he moved like a cat.

Eventually he found the building he was looking for. The door had been kicked off its hinges, but at least it was not on fire. It was not a large house, and it did not take Bakura long to examine the two rooms and conclude that his mother and sisters were not there. Cursing fluently under his breath he scampered back into the shadows of the buildings and began heading toward the other end of the village, toward the tunnels.

"Were you totally nuts or something?!" Ron asked. "That place was swarming with guards!"

Bakura turned his deadly crimson eyes on the Gryffindor boy, who recoiled slightly at the intimidating stare. "Tell me Ron, if your mother and siblings were in that tunnel being led to a fate worse than Voldemort, what would you have done?"

Ron fell silent immediately as this comment hit home. Harry could sympathise, having been in the situation of charging into danger to save a loved one on more than one occasion. Hermione just stood there with a frightened look on her face. Clearly she was not looking forward to finding out whatever was going on in that underground cavern.

The guards appeared to have all the villagers they needed, as they were all retreating down the stairway toward the main chamber of the cavern. Bakura followed, silently as a ghost, yet he was beginning to tremble slightly. He wasn't an idiot. Eight years old though he may be, he was the child of the desert and of a thief's village. He knew to rely on his instincts, and every instinct in his body was telling him to turn and leave the tunnels right now. But his blind concern for his family overruled this, so he continued down the stairs, after the oblivious guards.

The main chamber, which was usually empty and used as a meeting point for the villagers in the event that they were attacked, had been transformed. The villagers were lined up before a hastily constructed wooden platform, below which sat a bubbling cauldron easily big enough to hold five people standing in the base. The cauldron was placed on a makeshift stone dais, with hieroglyphs painted around the edge.

Some of the villagers were shaking, clinging to their loved ones. Some were roaring obscenities at the surrounding guards, who paid no heed to their taunts, and focused instead on keeping them in line. Children were crying, and women screamed in fear, as one by one, the villagers were dragged forward and thrown off the end of the platform into the cauldron below with a sickening splash.

The guards watched, their gazes fixed on the terrified prisoners, or on the cauldron. No one noticed as Bakura slipped from the doorway, along the wall and to the tunnel that acted as the back way out of the village. He crouched in the entrance, just out of sight. His dark blue eyes were wide with fear, and he flinched every time a body was pushed into the cauldron.

"Oh my God…" Hermione whispered, her hands covering her mouth in horror. Ron was green in the face, and Harry had turned to look at the real Bakura, who was watching the scene with a hollow, dead look in his eyes.

"_No wonder he's so bitter_," he thought.

Memory Bakura did not move for a long time. Then all of a sudden he let out a fearful gasp and his eyes got even wider. The guards at the forefront of the line of prisoners were pulling the next victim forward. She was a young woman in her mid-twenties, with black hair and violet blue eyes.

Bakura's eyes…

Cradled in her arms was a small infant, only a few months old, wailing miserably at the noise and confusion around her when all she wanted to do was get fed and go to sleep. By the woman's legs clung another girl, this one two years old and trembling worse than her mother. She shrieked as the guards pulled her away from her mother, and screamed all the louder as the baby was wrenched from the wailing woman's arms.

Memory Bakura didn't move. He was frozen in place, wanting nothing more than to race to the platform and save them. But there were at least fifty other people between him and his family, twenty of those being guards. He did not utter a sound as the baby was tossed into the cauldron like a rag doll. The two-year-old girl followed, her high-pitched screams bouncing off the walls as she fell.

Little Bakura sank to his knees as his mother was pushed into the cauldron next. All her fight seemed to have vanished with her daughters, and she allowed herself to become the next sacrifice. The real Bakura's face showed nothing but an eerie blankness, but through the mind link, Ryou was being bombarded by wave after wave of anger, grief and sickness.

/_Suma…Femi…mother…why? What did they ever do wrong? And why, Gods, why could I not save them?_/

Ryou moved a little closer to his darker half, hoping his presence would offer a little bit of comfort as he struggled to hold back his own tears. He would be strong for his yami.

"Why?" Yugi, tears in his own eyes, voiced the question they were all asking. Bakura answered, his voice deceptively calm.

"The Items."

Everyone was snapped out of their horror by a scream coming from the entrance to the cavern. Two guards appeared dragging a struggling Akila between them. The girl was hissing and spitting at her captives, trying desperately to wrench her arms from their grasp. One of the guards gave a howl as she sank her teeth into his hand. She was instantly backhanded by the second and she shook her head to try and clear the daze.

"Found this one near the entrance," the guard on the left said, as the other nursed his hand and his pride. He was addressing the five men surrounding the dais. They all wore dark robes and headdresses, though the one that listened to them appeared to be the one of higher rank, as the stitching on his clothes was more elaborate than the others. He gazed at Akila for a second before running an eye along the diminishing line of captives.

"We're one short," he said. "It has to be ninety nine exactly. She'll do for the last sacrifice."

This appeared to be Memory Bakura's breaking point. He'd lost his mother and two of his sisters, and Ra be damned if he was going to lose his favourite sister too. As soon as the man's back was turned, and the two guards had begun to drag Akila toward the platform, he pounced, leaping from the hiding place and throwing an arm around the neck of the guard whom Akila had sunk her teeth into. He quickly removed the knife from the man's belt and plunged it into his back before the guard could even make a move to throw the boy off him.

The second guard released Akila and turned, drawing a short sword. Bakura roared in pain as the blade swept across his face, cutting a vertical slash down his eye, drawing blood in a crimson river. The prisoners had noticed and begun cheering, some of the braver men struggling against their own temporarily distracted guards. However they were outnumbered and easily subdued again. The guard raise his sword again, but before he could plunge it into Bakura's chest, he gave a groan and doubled over dropping his weapon. Akila had apparently regained her wits enough to kick him in the crotch. It was just enough time to give Bakura the opening to finish him with the knife.

By now the guards were in an uproar, as were the Priests. The one in charge shouted at the guards on the platform to keep going, and the last few prisoners were pushed to the cauldron. The others surrounded the siblings. As they turned for the exit, three guards blocked their way, seizing the struggling children. Akila looked positively animalistic in her desire to escape with her life. Bakura was biting, clawing and kicking at anything that moved, but was impeded by the blood pouring from his wound into his eye and clouding his vision.

"Hold them!" the leading Priest bellowed in a commanding voice. The guards forced their struggling captives to remain still.

"Master Aknadin?" one of the Priests asked. The leader scowled at the two children as if daring them to speak.

"Throw the girl in," he commanded. "And make sure he is watching."

Memory Bakura went pale and immediately began struggling against the three guards holding him still. He cursed everyone present with all the foul language he knew, all the while screaming his little sister's name as she was dragged to the ledge. The last few villagers had been sacrificed. Akila would be the last to seal the spell.

She did not scream as they dragged her to the edge. She lashed out, fighting until the end, as they prepared to toss her into the cauldron, to join her mother and younger sisters. Up until the last second she continued to struggle, and then she turned her head, her eyes locking on the identical ones of Bakura, one filled with blood and the other filling with tears.

"Big brother…"

And then she was gone in a splash of gold.

They expected the fight to drain out of him. They expected him to give up.

They were very wrong.

Bakura exploded into life.

"YOU BASTARDS!"

Rage made him strong as he wrenched one arm free of the guards, swinging it round to punch one of them in the face. His foot made contact with the second guard's stomach, and he was dropped instantly, swiping the sword from the stumbling man's belt and stabbing anyone and anything that got in his way. The Priests were shouting, and the guards were swarming toward him. He paid no heed, killing the two guarding the exit with little care and bolting from the chamber.

He would survive. He knew it as he grabbed the horse that his sister had abandoned at the cave entrance and took off out of the village. He knew as blood trailed down his face from his wound, mixing in with the tears that were shed as he rode on through the desert. He did not care that he was sobbing. He would come back and he would avenge them all. The tears could not be helped, because ultimately, he was only a child.

The scene around them dissolved, taking the burning village, the desert, and the dark night's sky with it, and leaving the six students and two spirits standing in the white void again. No one was speaking…aloud at least.

/_Bakura, are you okay?_/

/_What do you think?_/ The thief immediately felt guilty for snapping. /_I'm sorry…_/

/_Don't be_._ I can't even imagine how it must have felt…_/

/_Probably about as painful as getting the call from the hospital_/ Bakura said, causing Ryou to flinch slightly as the memory hit him. He brushed it away quickly. It was depressing enough in here as it was.

The white fog around them began to swirl again.

"So these hallucinations…" Ron began. Yami interrupted.

"They're not hallucinations…" he interrupted. "They're echoes of our past."

"Whatever," Ron shrugged. As far as he was concerned, they were the same thing. "These echoes…if Voldemort's the one creating them, then what's the point?"

"To unnerve us," Malik said. "To make us relive the worst parts of our lives so that our nightmares are more potent. Believe me, there's plenty he could do with these images."

"Here comes the next one," Yugi warned, as the world came into focus again.

It seemed they were back in Egypt, but in a considerably different setting. The building before them was stone, well built and well structured. They were standing at the base of a staircase, which lead into what appeared to be a small garden. A square pool was the foremost feature in the garden, with blue lilies resting on the undisturbed surface. It was a very tranquil environment.

"This place is beautiful!" Hermione gasped.

"This looks like a palace," Ron commented enviously.

"It _is_ the palace you dolt," Bakura snapped, not feeling sociable at present in the slightest. "I should know, I broke in here enough. Those I must say I never got as far as the gardens…"

Everyone was distracted at the sound of footsteps, coming from the staircase above them, and they all resisted a temporary urge to hide, remembering that they were all invisible in these visions. As the figure rounded the corner at the top of the stairs however, they all gasped again.

For it was none other than Yami!

He looked to be about fifteen, putting him at two years before being sealed into the Puzzle. His skin, like Bakura's, was very tanned, and he wore a white tunic and kilt, but he did not wear the Puzzle or the twin crown, indicating that he was not Pharaoh yet, but Prince. His eyes, which were purple like Yugi's (though a more reddish shade than Yugi's amethyst), were gazing at his sandals as he walked down the stairs. He looked very depressed.

Yami, like Bakura was in a state of total shock seeing himself. It had never occurred to him, as he was missing half his memories, that the Orichalcos would be able to replicate an event from his past, but he knew he should have expected it. After all, Dartz had done the same thing during their duel. And the Orichalcos was definitely old enough to have seen it happen.

About half way down the staircase, Yami stopped, his head twitching slightly in awareness. He appeared to be listening hard, and after a second he had found what he had heard. A smirk crossed his face and he carried on down the stairs, being careful to mask his steps as he went. As he reached the bottom step, he casually held out an arm and pushed a vase sitting beside the wall over onto its side. There was a squeak, and something tumbled out onto the stone.

A very human looking something.

Yami laughed.

"Mana, until you change your hiding place, you're never going to be able to surprise me."

The girl who had been crouched in the pottery picked herself up, brushing off her dress with a pout on her face. She was slightly taller than Yami (who at this stage in his life only just hit five foot three), with dark brown hair which was held back with a hat, and bright green eyes that sparkled despite the fact she had been caught again. As Yami set the vase upright she folded her arms.

"I was really quiet that time!" she whined. "I'm never going to be able to hide from you!"

"No," Yami agreed, shrugging. "But don't worry, at least you can still hide from Mahad. That's what's most important, right?"

Mana pulled a face and slouched against the wall of the pool in an almost insolent way. "He's no fun since he became head of the Palace security. He's all serious…well, more so than usual."

"That reminds me," Yami said frowning. "Shouldn't you be at magic practise?"

Mana looked slightly sheepish, but made a quick recovery. "Shouldn't you be doing duties?"

Yami winced. "Okay, you got me. I just wanted to go for a walk."

Mana looked sympathetic, and sat down next to him on the edge of the pool. Her bubbly personality was gone, replaced with a sombre look that did not become of her.

"Wanna talk?" she asked. Yami sighed.

"He's not getting better," he said, and everyone wondered instantly who he was talking about. "I know it, the healers know it, the guardians know it…I know I've been preparing for this moment for years, but no one tells you that while you're ascending the throne you're going to be grief ridden too."

It was clear this had been building up inside him for a very long time and he had been unable to express it until now. Yami could tell that he and Mana were close. He knew his own nature, and he knew he would never confide in someone like this unless he trusted them completely. It was the same kind of bond he had with Yugi or the bond Yugi had with Joey.

Mana placed a hand on his shoulder. "You always knew this was going to happen," she said gently. "No one stays in this life forever. Not even the Pharaoh."

The implications hit Yami like a bolt of thunder. His Father, the current Pharaoh, was dying. That was why he was so depressed. Yugi seemed to have come to the same conclusion, as he looked horrified, and moved closer to his dark out of comfort.

/_I remember this day_/ Bakura said to Ryou through their link. He clearly knew better than to say this aloud, considering no one had pressed after his little trip down memory lane just a second ago. /_The whole country was in mourning for weeks. Even if you didn't like the Pharaoh you felt miserable just because everyone else was. It was like a disease_/

/_Misery is infectious_/ Ryou agreed bitterly. /_And the Orichalcos is the breeze that spreads the infection_/

Mana seemed to realise that Yami was in serious need of a pep talk, so she drew in a deep breath and shook his shoulder lightly.

"It's okay to be upset about him," she assured him. "You might be Prince, and a Son of Ra, but that doesn't mean you have to be those things all the time. Its okay to be…well human I guess."

It was this point that the three transfers and two spirits realised just how close the two were, for no one in Ancient Egypt questioned the Pharaoh's divinity, and if they did they were certainly not allowed to get away with it as Mana was now. She did not look worried though, and Yami felt another stirring in the back of his mind. Yes, he remembered, however faintly. He knew he and Mana had been friends, very close friends at that. He could just sense it from watching this scene and from the feelings that watching it evoked.

"Its alright to be sad," Mana assured him. "You can always talk to me."

Yami sighed. "I know Mana. Thank you. You're a good friend."

"Even though I used to persuade you to cut magic practise so we could go tease the Priests?" she asked with a smirk. The corners of Yami's lips twitched and he folded his arms.

"Even though Mahad deems you a bad influence. Though I have to say I'm not entirely innocent either."

"You mean like when we were six," Mana said, grinning widely now. "Right before your father's banquet…"

"And we pinched the most expensive bottles wine we could find in the stores," Yami continued, fighting back a laugh. "Not the best idea I've ever had…that stuff was really strong!"

Mana broke out into a giggle. "And then Mahad came to try and stop us, and we persuaded him to join us instead!"

Both of them started laughing at the memory. Bakura turned his head and looked at Yami with a smirk.

"Stealing wine Pharaoh? And you dare judge me for stealing to live?"

"What's your point?" Yami asked uncomfortably. Bakura was now grinning widely.

"Hypocrite!" he said stressing the syllables one by one. Yami rolled his eyes, and Ryou elbowed his yami.

"Leave him alone," he muttered, though Bakura was surprised and pleased to see that his hikari was trying to hold back a smile. Next to him, Yugi was doing the same.

/_You too Aibou?!_/ Yami said in exasperation. There was a snort from Yugi.

/_Yes! I'm sorry Yami, but the thought of you drunk amuses me!_/

Yami gave a huff, at the same time there was a splash and a yelp. Mana it seemed had shoved Yami playfully and had sent the Prince sprawling backwards into the pond. Fortunately it was shallow and so the water barely came up to his waist. Yami still looked indignant however.

"Mana!" Mana's giggling stopped abruptly and she looked sheepish.

"Oops! I'm sorry! I forgot the pond was there!"

"Uh huh," Yami nodded, standing up in the pool and wringing his tunic out. "Sure you did."

"I did!" Mana said, but her tone was fooling no one, and Yami was no exception. As Mana held out a hand to help him out, he gave it a sharp tug and pulled her into the water next to him. She shrieked as she landed, the water immediately soaking into her dress.

"No fair!" she whined.

"Mana, the key to a convincing bluff," Yami said in a stern tone. "Is that you keep a straight face."

Mana rolled her eyes as she stood up. "You sound like Master Mahad! This means one thing Prince!"

Yami's smirk got even wider as they both shouted in unison.

"Water fight!"

The water began to fly, splashing all over the garden. The spectators ducked the stray attacks, even though as this was a memory the flying droplets did not affect them.

"What no smart comments?" Yami asked to Bakura, who was watching the whole event with a raised eyebrow. At Yami's words however, Bakura rolled his eyes.

"All children have water fights Pharaoh," he said. "Akila and I used to play in the Nile with the other children from our village. Boys against girls."

He seemed to catch what he had just said once it was out of his mouth and he cursed inwardly for sharing something so sentimental.

"Who won?" Malik asked with a smirk on his face. Bakura huffed and replied with an air of reluctance.

"The girls. But that's only because we let them!"

Malik, Ron and Harry snorted with laughter, which stopped immediately when Bakura gave them evil eyes.

/_What is wrong with me this evening?_/ he thought.

/_Nothing_/ Ryou said. /_You're just being you_/

/_This is not me hikari_/ Bakura replied. Ryou glared at him.

/_Don't lie Yami. That scene just proved you aren't the bad assed thief all the time. And this scene is proving that Yami has a childish side. You don't have to keep the mask on all the time_/

Bakura huffed again, but he did not respond. A shout from the flashback had just caught everyone's attention. Yami and Mana paused in the middle of their fight to look at the figure on the top of the stairs.

For what felt like the millionth time that day, everyone's jaws dropped.

"Ishizu?!" Malik spluttered, for standing at the top of the stairs, was a woman who bore a striking resemblance to his sister. To complete the image, she had the Millennium Necklace around her neck.

"Isis," Yami abruptly dropped the water lily that he had been preparing to throw at Mana, and hurried to the edge of the pond. "What is it?"

"My Prince," Isis said, descending the stairs as fast as she could. She didn't seem perturbed by the two teenager's current state, and appeared more disturbed about her news. "I'm afraid the end is near for our Pharaoh. You must go to him immediately."

Under his tan, Yami paled dramatically, scrambling out of the pond and bolting up the stairs with a hasty "thank you" thrown in Isis's direction. Mana followed, her soggy sandals slipping and sliding over the floor.

They followed Mana through the halls of the palace, until they approached a room, outside which two men were standing guard. Both were dressed in white robes, but the younger of the two wore a headdress, while a hood covered the elder's head. They both turned as Yami approached, and Ryou let out an audible gasp, for the younger man had the Millennium Ring around his neck. Bakura meanwhile, was growling at the elder, and everyone could immediately guess why. While he was much older, it was clearly the same man who had been in the chamber at Kul Elna and ordered Akila to be thrown in the cauldron.

"Who are they?" Harry dared to ask.

"High Priests," Bakura spat out.

"Which ones?" Malik asked in interest, for the Tomb Keepers had meticulous records of the three unknown Pharaoh's and the members of their courts. Ishizu held all these in trust now, but Malik remembered most of them by heart.

"That's Mahad," Bakura said, pointing at the Ring bearer. "And that…" his tone became extremely venomous now. "Bastard is Aknadin. The woman you saw earlier who looked like Ishizu was Isis."

Isis and Mana were following a respectable distance from Yami, who had just skidded to the end of the corridor. Mahad and Aknadin backed away as he approached, bowing low in respect, and the young Prince paled further.

"Prince, your father…"

Now Yami just looked ill. "He can't…"

"He is following Anubis now…my Pharaoh," Aknadin's voice sounded very faint. The change in title seemed to be the last straw for Yami.

"No, no, NO!"

Yami bolted into the chamber just as the healers were leaving. Mahad sighed, and pulled Mana to a stop as she made to follow.

"Leave him be Mana," he admonished gently. Mana had tears in her eyes, but she did as she was told.

"Yes Master," she sniffed, wiping her tears away. Mahad took her shoulder and pulled her to stand by his side. Isis joined them, a grave look on her face.

"He will be fine," she said.

"Let's hope," Aknadin said. "He is only fifteen after all…"

"His father wasn't that much older when he ascended the throne," Mahad reminded them. "Not that I was alive then of course…"

"None the less," Aknadin said. "It shall not be easy for him."

"Our king will be fine," Mahad said firmly. "He will be a strong leader for Egypt." He looked down at the sniffing Mana. "And we must be strong for him."

Mana tried to stifle her tears and nodded weakly.

"We'll always be there for him," she muttered.

The group of observers were silent. Yami in particular seemed to have lost all powers of rational speech. As Mana finished speaking however, he turned abruptly and tried to head into the room that his younger self had just entered. He was jerked to a halt by a hand seizing his and holding onto it tightly.

/_No Yami_/ Yugi said, his wide eyes looking at his dark imploringly. /_Don't go in_/

/_Aibou…_/ Yami replied, sounding strained. /_Its my father…_/

/_I _know/ Yugi said. /_I know how you feel. But you don't have any other memories right now. And until they come back this is all you're going to remember_/ he paused for a second before continuing. /_I know you. And I know you don't want your only memory of him to be one of him gone from this world_/

Yami stared at Yugi for a while, before nodding slowly in agreement.

/_You're right Yugi. I should want to remember the good times and not the bad ones_/

Yugi sensed the sadness in his darker half's tone and squeezed his hand again.

/_They'll come back_/ he said. /_I swear they will_/

And as if on cue, the scene dissolved again.

"_He's trying to break us_," Malik thought to himself, his eyes wandering over his companions. "_First Bakura…then Yami…who's next?"_

The answer made him feel sick to his stomach.

As the scene re-established itself, everyone shivered. The room they stood in was dark, with only flickering torches to light it. There were two stone tables in the room, and upon the smaller one sat a single candle. A man, robed and hooded, sat on the end of the table, holding the blade of a knife in the candle flame to sterilise it.

Screams echoed beyond the doorway of the room, and the man looked up with an annoyed expression on his face as three figures burst in. Two were full grown men, their faces also hooded and masked. They were dragging a young boy between them – a boy all of them recognised to be a much younger Malik.

"Odion! Ishizu!"

His screams went unanswered. The man at the table gave a jerk of his head, and got up from where he was sitting, as the two other men dragged Malik toward the table. The boy was pale, and had tears running down his cheeks. He looked utterly terrified.

"Tie him down," the first man ordered.

At the sound of the man's voice, the real Malik's scowl deepened and his fists clenched.

"That's your father isn't it?" Ryou asked. The Egyptian nodded shortly before turning away.

"Malik?" Hermione sounded confused.

"If it's all the same to you guys," Malik said. "I don't want to see this again. I see it enough in my nightmares."

A yelp from the younger Malik caught their attention again. The boy had been pinned to the stone table and the two elder men who had dragged him into the room were binding him there.

"No! Please! I don't want this!"

His protests were ceased as his father slapped him harshly around the head. Malik's forehead collided with the stone, and he whimpered even more.

"Do not try to escape it Malik! This is your destiny and your duty as a Tomb Keeper! Now stop struggling!"

Malik didn't give up, and continued to pull and tug his restraints. His father had finished sterilising the knife, and waved at the two men who had brought his son to him. They bowed and left.

"No," Malik had turned even more frantic at the sight of the knife. "Please father! Don't do this!"

"Stop your whining! It's pitiful!"

Real life Malik flinched even though he wasn't watching. He knew that his father had just slapped him again, and as the yells became muffled he knew that he had just been gagged. Even though he wasn't looking, he could still see it happening in his minds eye, clear as anything. The screams were torn from his younger self's throat, distorted through the cloth in his mouth, but still conveying just how much pain he was in.

Yugi and Ryou looked ill. They had heard about it of course, but hearing about it and seeing it were two completely different things. Bakura was growling. He wasn't feeling ill – he had seen plenty of blood in his life after all – but he was enraged on Malik's behalf. No wonder he hated his father. The bastard was just sitting there, pinning his child to the table and disfiguring him – no regret or remorse in his actions at all!

"Shit…Malik…" somehow Ron managed to voice all their emotions into just two words. Malik didn't move. He didn't want pity. He never wanted to see this scene again, even though he knew it would haunt him for the rest of his life. He would never be free of it. He closed his eyes and clenched his fist. He would not let this get to him! He was not that weak any more.

Apparently the Orichalcos seemed to think that they had had enough, as the scene shifted again, but it was not as different this time. In fact the new room was merely another location in the Tomb Keepers home.

Malik was slightly confused. They had had his worst memory, so why were they still here?

Malik and Ishizu, both hovered anxiously in the doorway, Malik looking glazed, and Ishizu looking horrified. Their father stood in the middle of the room, his body language screaming anger and rage. He had a whip clutched in his hand. On the stone floor lay Odion, his clothing shredded by the whip, and his back bloody from the punishment he had endured. The elder Ishtar was ranting at his two children.

"What's happening now?" Hermione asked.

"This is the day…" Malik now sounded horrified. He wanted to relive this memory…or rather; his lack of memory…even less than he wanted to relive the Initiation again. He wanted out of this now!

As he thought this, twelve-year-old Malik suddenly grabbed his head and growled in pain, his features twisting and distorting. Ishizu placed her hands on her brother's shoulders, asking him what was wrong.

"What's wrong with him?" Harry asked. Yugi, Yami, Ryou and Bakura however had come to a horrible conclusion.

"Marik…" Yami growled, turning to Malik. "This is the day he first appeared isn't it?"

Malik nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"But that means that this is the day…" Yugi trailed off, realising immediately what this meant. Ryou and Bakura were also drawing the same conclusions. This was the night that Marik had first appeared, and killed Malik and Ishizu's father.

The whip struck out again at the siblings, but Malik's arm was raised and seized the on coming threat. The boy's face raised…

And immediately everyone could see a difference.

"Bloody hell!" Ron yelped.

"What happened to him?" Harry asked. No one answered, and attention was diverted as in the flashback, the now easily identifiable Marik, held fast onto the end of the whip, despite his father's tugging. His hair now stuck up on all directions, his eyes were narrowed and cruel, and when he spoke, his voice was demonic.

"Thank you for getting rid of Odion for me."

Ishizu had backed off against the wall, terror and confusion etched onto her face. Marik let go of the whip, and it sprang back towards it owner, who moved quickly out of the way. Marik chuckled, in a way that made everyone shiver.

"It's relaxing," the yami said, making his way toward the table at the far end of the room. He seemed entirely unconcerned by Ishizu, who gasped her brother's name, and their father, who growled at him menacingly.

The yami stopped before the table, observing the objects that rested side by side there. The Millennium Rod and the Millennium Necklace. The boy turned to face the room's occupants.

"From this day on, this Item is mine."

"No!" their father exploded angrily. "You can't touch a Millennium Item!"

But Marik did just that, picking up the Millennium Rod fondly as though he had been waiting to use it for a long time. The eye on the Rod glowed, and Marik chuckled again.

"It seems to accept me," he said.

"Put it back!" their father snapped. Marik turned to face him, his violet eyes enraged, the Eye of Horus glowing on his forehead like a beacon in the dimly lit chamber.

"Shut up!"

Everyone present jumped, and the elder Ishtar recoiled in shock. He had clearly never had anyone speak to him that way before, and it unnerved him just how dangerous his son looked clutching the Millennium Rod.

"Malik, you…"

He never spoke another word. Marik raised the Millennium Rod and pulses of dark magic appeared from the end. The man was thrown against the wall, pinned there by a golden hue of light.

"Malik! You are…" Ishizu rushed toward her brother, but Marik's gaze stopped her in her tracks.

"Obey me too!" the boy barked, turning the Rod on her. Ishizu too slammed against the wall, gasping in pain and horror.

"You're not Malik…" she choked out. Marik did not reply. He just turned away from her and toward their father, a sadistic smirk creeping onto his lips. He marched toward the bound captive, unsheathing the dagger in the base of the Rod as he walked.

"I'll start with you father," Marik sneered, as he stopped before the man himself. He raised the dagger, the end glinting sinisterly in the candlelight.

"Stop it!" his father tried once more.

Marik's only response was a demonic cackle, which echoed all through the tombs as the blade was plunged deep into his father's chest.

Hermione screamed and Ron swore loudly. Harry just stood there in shock the truth of what he had just seen slamming into him over and over with all the force of a rampaging dragon.

Malik had killed his father.

Malik himself had shrunk toward the back of the group, as far away from the scene as he could. He had never remembered the events surrounding his father's death, having been completely suppressed by his darker half and cut off from seeing anything. Odion had been unconscious for most of it, and Ishizu was reluctant to discuss it. Malik had thought that not knowing was the worst part of his father's death. He had been very wrong…knowing was worse.

Finally Marik's chuckles died down. His father was now slumped on the floor against the wall, the enchantment of the Rod having been lifted. Blood was smeared down the stone from where the man had slid down it, his wound marking the room forever more. But Marik was not finished yet however. Surgically the blade of the knife was brought down on his fathers back, ripping cleanly through the skin, and pulling the hieroglyphs from his father's flesh. He laughed again sadistically as he stood tall, holding the marked skin as though it were a piece of parchment. His hands were covered in blood.

Ron had turned green, and Hermione looked equally sickened. Harry was quite sure that this was one of the most disgusting things he had ever seen, as the demonic child turned to Odion's unconscious form.

"Odion," he drawled. "You wanted proof of belonging to the Ishtar family, didn't you…? Then here, take this with you to the next world!"

And he tossed the skin over Odion's bleeding back, smirking at his handiwork. Ishizu had fainted by this point, and Marik finally turned his attention to her.

"There's a woman left," he mused, as though he had only just remembered that Ishizu was still in the room. There was a raspy gasp from the floor however, and Marik's attention was diverted.

"Master Malik…"

"He's still alive?" the demon grumbled, striding over to Odion, the sadistic grin back on his face. He raised the dagger, and prepared to plunge it into the flesh of the man who had kept him locked away inside his host's body.

"Go to hell!"

Odion rolled over, looking pleadingly up at the one under his protection.

"Master…"

Only the yami's and hikari's of course knew the reason why, but as soon as Odion spoke, the demonic aura around the youngest Ishtar lifted. The Millennium Rod clattered to the floor, and the Eye of Horus vanished from his forehead. Malik's hair flopped back into its usual style, and the confused pre-teen fell to his knees clutching his head, struggling to repress the dark one trying to break free. Odion sat up.

"Master Malik!"

Malik seemed to calm under Odion's voice and he looked up, his face a picture of confusion.

"Odion? What happened to me?"

Odion flung his bound arms around his charge, trying to prevent the younger from turning around and seeing the dead body behind him. It was no use though. Malik turned his head, recognised the blood drenched corpse, and screamed loudly.

"Father!"

Then the strangest thing happened. From the dead body, emerged a ghostly looking figure, which then began to speak. Everyone except Harry Ron and Hermione recognised the voice.

"Shadi," Bakura growled, and behind him, Malik came to life again, cracking his knuckles loudly as though he wanted nothing more than to punch the spirit, illusion or not.

"You are…" the younger Malik had stopped struggling as he recognised the ghost.

"It is the soul of the Pharaoh who gave this fate," Shadi spoke, his words echoing as though spoken from a long way away. "The Pharaoh is returning. Go find the Pharaoh, Malik!"

And then he vanished.

"I hate him…" Malik growled out between his teeth.

"After seeing that," Yami scowled at where the Guardian of the Items had been standing. "I'm in full agreement."

"You killed him!" Harry accused Malik, who threw a scowl in the Boy Who Lived's direction.

"What of it?" he asked, dismissively.

"Malik you know it wasn't you," Yugi protested. Malik shrugged.

"Him, me, same thing."

"No its not!" Yugi stamped his foot. "You are not him! Just because Marik was born from you doesn't mean you are the same! He's a psychopath! You are not!"

"Wait…Marik?" Harry was lost. "Who's Marik?"

"I think I understand," Hermione said, though a scowl was also present on her face. "Malik is possessed too isn't he? That was his other personality that killed his father?"

"It's not like that exactly," Yami said. "It's a lot more complicated."

"So you lied to us!" Ron said angrily. "You said Malik didn't have another self!"

"I didn't lie!" Malik snapped. "You asked me when we first told you about Yami and Bakura if I had another personality, and my exact words were "not anymore". I told you truth and nothing but."

"You didn't exactly explain it!" Harry pointed out. "You think we wouldn't like to know that part of you used to be a murderer?!"

"Shut up, all of you!" Bakura roared, causing everyone to jump. The scene around them was swirling again, and the Tomb had vanished.

"You three need to stop jumping to conclusions!" the thief spat. "Malik told you the truth. His other self isn't around any longer. And it was very different from the way the Pharaoh and I are Yugi and Ryou's other selves."

"Explain?" Harry asked. "Because I'm not seeing any difference."

"Yami and Bakura are five thousand year old spirits trapped in the Items," Ryou elaborated. "What Malik had is more like…a magically enhanced case of DID."

"DID?" Ron asked, bemused.

"Dissociative Identity Disorder," Hermione explained, understand dawning on her face.

"Which means…?" Harry prompted. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"It means," Malik provided before she could. "That Marik…as we called him, was a fragment of my personality. All my negative emotions rolled up into another identity, which sometimes took over my body. Marik was afraid of Odion, and only emerged when Odion was incapable of protecting me, like you just saw there."

"…this sounds very complicated," Ron said, as though he couldn't quite believe it.

"Look whether you believe it or you're too thick to accept the truth, that is what happened," Bakura jumped in, ignoring Ron's protests about how he was not stupid. "That is what you just saw occur. Malik did not kill his father. Marik did. Accept that, and move on. Marik's gone now, so we don't have to worry about him any more."

"_But is he_?" Malik thought, remembering the events that had occurred during the duel between Weevil and Rex. There was still a link, small, fragile and weak, but a link none the less, connecting his darker half to his mind. They had seen two visions of Malik's past, because one of those was his worst memory, and the other was his darker half's worst memory. That vision, Malik realised, had been the Orichalcos's attempt to remind them all of that simple fact. Marik wasn't truly gone, merely locked away in a very safe prison…

But even the safest prisons could be broken…

The new scene they were standing was clearly a muggle hospital. The place smelt strongly of blood and death, a stench that not even the disinfectant could drown out. The hospital staff hurried around the corridor, alert evident in their tread, as though they were waiting for the icy breath of Death to touch the hospital again at any second. The sign above the door was in English, and labelled the room beyond as "Intensive Care Unit (ICU)".

It was down this corridor, that fourteen year old Ryou now walked accompanied by a taller, older man who could only be his father.

The present day Ryou flinched. It was time to see his worst memory.

Bakura growled low in his throat at the sight of Ryou's father. The spirit had never liked that man, and his distain had recently been pushed to new levels now that he actually cared for Ryou. Ryou took Bakura's hand again, not wanting his darker half to make this any harder than it needed to be.

Adrian Bakura had the frantic look of a desperate man, clinging to his last shred of hope. Ryou looked no better. Slightly shorter than he was now, he was chewing his lip anxiously.

"Can I help you?" a passing nurse asked, dodging as another patient on a stretcher was wheeled past, doctors and nurses, clearly on his way to surgery, if the signs on the walls were any indication. Ryou looked as though he were about to be sick, and his eyes travelled past the stretcher, through the windows in the door of ICU, to rest on a bed down one end of the ward. A nurse was monitoring the patient with a grim expression on her face.

"Yes," Adrian's voice was strained. "We're looking for Rei and Amane Bakura. We were told they'd be here…"

"Amane!" Ryou's cry caused both his father and the nurse to jump, as the teen burst through the doors and raced across the ward, ignoring another nurse who shouted at him to slow down. Another doctor approached Adrian, who had gone even paler at the sight of his daughter.

"Are you Adrian Bakura?" the doctor asked. He spoke in a weary voice, as though he had had a very trying evening and didn't want to add to it.

"Yes," Ryou's father was very panicked by now. "Where is Rei? She was in the car too."

"I'm sorry sir, but your wife died shortly after she arrived in Accident and Emergency."

Present day Ryou turned away from his father, who had slumped broken into one of the hospital chairs. Everyone's attention was diverted the younger Ryou, who had been stopped on his mad dash by the nurse that had been tending to his twin.

"She's fragile young man. Please be careful."

"How fragile?" Ryou's voice was weak. The nurse sighed and looked over at Amane's bed, before lowering her voice.

"I'm sorry, but you should prepare for the worst."

Bakura snorted loudly, causing everyone to jump.

"That was the most tactless phrasing I've ever heard in my life!"

Ryou didn't even bother to shush Bakura. His eyes were fixed on his sister as his younger self approached the bed.

Amane Bakura was every bit her brother's twin, at about the same height and with the same frame, though it was hard to tell through the hospital sheets and blankets. Her shoulder length hair was the same shade of blue as their father's, rather than Ryou's pure white. A drip was being fed into her arm, and tubes were inserted into her nose to help her breathe. A ventilator puffed and sighed in time with the rise and fall of her chest. Her brown eyes were open, but they looked slightly glazed. They sparkled however at the sight of Ryou.

"Big brother…you came…"

She trailed off, taking another rattling breath. Ryou felt tears well up in his eyes as he sat down beside the bed and took his sisters hand. The older Ryou flinched, remembering just how cold his sister's hand had been.

"Amane…how do you feel sister?"

The girl, despite her dazed state, managed to roll her eyes.

"Feels…like I've been…hit by a truck…thanks…oh wait…that _is_ what happened…"

Her attempt at humour did succeed in making Ryou smile. But it was not a smile of happiness. It was a grief ridden thin smile, of a boy who knew deep down that his sister was fading. But Amane couldn't see that. Ryou angrily blinked his tears away.

"You should rest Amane. I'll stay here with you."

The teenage girl gave a wry smile, and shook her head. It was clear were she not struggling to breathe, she would be chuckling.

"I might be…on morphine…" the girl said. "…But I'm still coherent…I know Ryou…I know Mum…didn't make it…"

Ryou, who had not heard this news yet, gasped in horror.

"Don't say that! Mum is fine!"

"Ryou," the girl cut him off. "I know…she didn't make it. But don't worry brother…I'll look after her…"

"No!" Ryou was getting hysterical now. "Mum is fine! And you will be too!"

"No Ryou," Amane shook her head again, her breathing growing weaker as she spoke. "I don't…have much time…big brother. I held on just long enough…to see you once more…"

"Amane don't talk like this!" Ryou begged, tears spilling over. Amane continued regardless.

"Don't cry…" her voice was eerily blank at the moment. "I'll watch Mum…and you can watch Dad…we'll protect each of them…you know they're helpless without one of us…"

Ryou might have giggled at that – for it was a running joke of theirs – but he was too scared to do anything other than sit there and struggle to stop his sobs.

"Amane…"

"Love you…take care…Ryou…"

The monitor let out the dreaded flat beep, which progressed into an alarm, causing the nurses and doctors to race over.

"Sir we need you to step aside."

"She's gone into cardiac arrest. Begin chest compressions…"

"AMANE! AMANE!"

He was wrestled from the bed, away from the doctors and nurses, away from the chaos, away from her…by his father, who was trembling with grief.

"We're losing her!"

"…milligrams of adrenalin, but its not working…"

"Charging two hundred…clear!"

Ryou turned and buried his face into his father's shoulder as the shock was administered. He felt a jolt at his own heart as the flat drone of the heart monitor didn't change. It pierced through his mind, drilling the truth into him hard…

"…another line in or we're going to lose her!"

"Charging three sixty!"

"CLEAR!"

"She can't go…" Ryou choked out. "She can't be…"

"Ryou…son," Adrian's voice sounded distant. "She's going…"

"No! She can't!"

The alarms continued to wail, in time to the scream in Ryou's heart.

"CLEAR!"

It wasn't clear. His vision was foggy. Ryou clung to Bakura's shirt, unwilling to watch the most painful moment of his life again, as his twin was ripped from the world and the spot in his heart. None of them knew how long they stood there for as the doctors tried again, and again…

"Nothing Doctor."

"Pupils fixed."

"…She's gone. Time of death…twenty two thirty four…"

The scene blurred and shifted, and only Ryou's broken sobs were heard from somewhere on Bakura's shoulder as the yami embraced and comforted his hikari.

/_Shh Ryou…its okay…let it all out…I know what its like to lose the one that you hold dearest to you…_/

No one moved. For what could they really say? All four people whom these flashbacks had been centred around had been hurt, or watched someone they loved die in them. How did you say anything to that? Apologies felt insensitive, and everyone knew that no words or condolences could make things right. It was just something that they had to live with…no matter the pain. The fact that Voldemort was using their pain for his own benefit only rubbed more salt in the wound.

It was heart wrenching therefore, when the final flashback came into focus…one that Yugi and Yami remembered, and hated with all their hearts.

On a cliff, in the middle of a valley in California, stood Yami. He was facing off against a muscular blonde man, who had an air of anticipation around him as he played his next card. On Yami's side of the field was Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight, facing off against Backup Gardna and Guardian Grarl.

"Who's the blonde guy?" Malik asked.

"His…name is Raphael," Yugi replied, his voice breaking slightly as Raphael began his move.

"First I'll place one card facedown…" The hologram appeared next to him. "Then I'll activate this spell card. It's called Exchange."

The card lifted and Yami narrowed his eyes.

"What are you up to?"

"Normally Exchange allows both of us to pick a card from our opponent's hand," Raphael explained. "But you'll notice we each only have one card left. So that means we switch cards."

Yami glanced at the one card in his hand, before walking slowly toward the centre of the field.

"Then let's get on with it."

The two duellists approached the centre, standing between their monsters. Yami offered his card over first. Raphael took it and examined it. He smirked.

"Necromancy huh?" he said. "This let's me use a monster from your graveyard. That means this card was useless to you anyway, since I have no monsters in my graveyard."

"Fine," Yami said, obviously bored of the pointless talk. "Just hand me your card so we can continue."

Raphael's face did not shift as he handed Yami the card.

"As you wish. I think you'll be pretty pleased with this one."

Yami didn't even look at it. He just took it and turned away. Raphael also walked away, chuckling in a dark tone. Yami frowned over his shoulder.

"What is it you find so amusing?" he asked as he walked away. When no answer was forthcoming, he casually checked the card in his hand…

And froze on the spot.

"What?" Malik asked. "What did he give you?"

/…_No…_/ Bakura was thinking, a horrible conclusion dawning on him.

"Oh no!" Yami gasped, staring at the card in his hand as though he were horrified to be holding it. "I can't use this! Not the Seal of Orichalcos!"

There was a collective gasp from the spectators.

"No way!" Malik said.

"By the Gods…" Bakura muttered.

"He _gave _you the Seal?" Harry asked. "Why?"

Yami didn't give an answer.

"It's too late!" Raphael taunted, already back in place on his side of the field. "The stone around your neck has already begun to reveal your dark side!"

Yami seized the lump of Orichalcum around his neck as it began to glow.

"The Orichalcos never lies!" Raphael said. "Ever since it first appeared on Earth, the stone's been testing people. It knows who the evil ones are!"

He held out a hand to the still shocked Pharaoh.

"And when it detects the darkness inside of you, for the first time in centuries you'll get to see who you really are."

"What is he babbling about?" Ron asked. He was cut off however as Raphael smirked suddenly.

"Of course, you don't _have _to activate that card if you don't want to…but I have a feeling you will! So go ahead and make your next move Pharaoh!"

/_Why would he play Exchange?_/ Ryou thought as the duel continued. /_Raphael just threw away his best chance of winning just to get one card from Yami_/

/_I don't think he did_…/ Bakura said. He was struggling to reject the conclusion he was coming too, but he had seen the look in Yami's eyes. He had seen it in himself. It was the look of a man who was succumbing to temptation. /_On the contrary…I think this was his plan all along…_/

/_Wait…_/ Ryou said slowly. /_You think…Raphael _wanted _to give Yami the Seal…_?/

Bakura nodded, focusing on the duel once again. Raphael was ending his turn, and Yami was on his knees after the last attack, trying to ignore his opponent's taunts.

"If I lose now, then…two worlds will be destroyed…" he got slowly to his feet. "I won't lose this duel! I'll take you down Raphael!"

He pulled a card from his diminished hand and held it out.

"So I activate my Card of Sanctity! Both of us must draw from our decks until we have six cards in our hand!"

Raphael smirked. "Now you're just stalling." But he drew five cards none the less.

Yami drew a new hand and desperately examined it. The stone around his neck glowed again ominously, and he gripped it as though trying to smother out its influence.

"_I'm out of options!"_ the Pharaoh thought, and everyone was astonished to hear that his thoughts were audible. _"There's only one card in my hand that can free my dragon so I can win the duel…"_

He picked the card from his hand and held it out…a horrified voice interrupted him.

/_PHARAOH! NO_!/

Yami gasped, and looked over to see a spiritual Yugi hanging onto his arm. Everyone else gasped too, surprised that they could see him in this flashback.

/_Let go_/ Yami said calmly.

_/No_!/ Yugi cried. /_You don't know what you're doing_!/

_/Let go_!/ Yami barked.

_/Listen to me_!/ Yugi begged, holding on tighter. /_This card is affecting your mind_!/

/_We're going to lose the duel! Can't you see?! Trust me_/ Yami said. /_It's the only way Yugi. We must do this…now let me go!_/

He ripped his arm from his partner's grasp, and Yugi hovered sadly in the background.

/_Please…don't play that card!_/ he begged.

Yami however did not seem to be listening. He just glared at Raphael.

"Now I activate, the Seal of Orichalcos!"

Behind his Guardians, Raphael's expression did not change, but there was a slight shift in his eyes that expressed satisfaction. The field card slot on Yami's duel disk slid open and a second later, the dreaded card vanished from sight as it clicked shut again.

It was clear from the expression on Yami's face as the green light encircled him that he knew he had made a horrible mistake. Then an explosion of magic blocked the Pharaoh from view.

"No!" Yugi's spiritual form was crying out in anguish as the barrier separated him from his other self. The Seal exploded into life, spreading out over the captured Dragon Knight, the Guardians, and Raphael, who chuckled as the light faded.

What emerged from within was terrifying. Yami's crimson eyes had a menacing spark of malice in them, and the Seal stood out on his forehead like a twisted crown.

"So," Raphael said in a smug voice. "How do you feel?"

Real life Yami was trembling where he stood. It was one thing to remember what it was like to play the Seal. He remembered the desperation to win, and the horror when he had realised what he had done. He remembered being angry at Raphael, and how the Seal had only enhanced that anger. But seeing it from an outsider's point of view – indeed, from the angle that Joey, Tristan and Duke must have seen it was far worse. He looked like a monster.

"Pharaoh…" Bakura breathed, sounding utterly stunned. Next to him, Malik and Ryou were in similar states of disbelief. In all their conversations about the Orichalcos, neither Yami nor Yugi had ever mentioned that the Pharaoh himself had played the Seal.

"Tell us this isn't true," Hermione said, sounding tearful. Yami looked at the ground. He couldn't face any of them.

"Its true," he said in all but a whisper. He felt Yugi squeeze his hand.

/_You've already beaten it Yami_/ he reminded him. /_You defeated the darkness in your heart in Death Valley remember?_/

/_I know Yugi_/ Yami said. /_And I know I've said it before, but I am sorry_/

/_I know_/ Yugi said. /_I never held it against you. None of us did. Friends never do_/

The exchange didn't exist to anyone outside the two – which was probably just as well, as Harry, Ron and Hermione's heads were full enough as it was with the shock of what they had just discovered. Harry was seething. He had specifically asked Yugi if the Pharaoh had ever given him reason not to trust him. And Yugi had failed to mention that the Pharaoh had sold him out to an evil dark magic – within the last year if the little they had been told about their past experiences with the Orichalcos were anything to go on.

Yugi had lied to him. That was the fact that angered Harry the most. He thought that they could trust the transfer students, maybe accept their darker halves to some degree. But how could they possibly expect them to trust them after what they had just seen? For that matter, Harry thought, as he noticed just how close Yugi and Yami seemed to be now, why on Earth did Yugi still trust him after what the Pharaoh had done?

"_Because he's Yugi,"_ he reasoned in his mind. "_He trusts anyone_."

It was a sad but true fact that Harry had learned about the small Japanese student. Yugi trusted freely – too freely in Harry's opinion, but then he was probably slightly jaded having had very few people in his own life that he could trust. It wouldn't be much to expect that Yugi could forgive Yami, his _other self_ as he called him, for making mistakes.

"_But a mistake like this?"_ Harry thought. "_This is betrayal of the worst kind. So why does he still like the Pharaoh so much? Even the most naïve person in the world wouldn't trust a friend again if they sold their souls out for power!"_

Back on the duelling field, the battle raged on, as Raphael summoned Guardian Eatos and used Celestial Sword – Eatos to absorb the energy of the top five monsters in the Pharaoh's graveyard. The sight of his fallen allies seemed to get through to Yami. He looked distraught.

"Please forgive me for what I've done to you!"

/_He betrayed his own monsters…_/ Ryou whispered, fearfully. Bakura however was looking on, as Eatos attacked, understanding beginning to dawn on his face.

/_This is the duel that the Pharaoh lost_/ he thought to Ryou.

/_But that would mean that…_/ Ryou gasped. /_This is the duel where he lost Yugi to the Orichalcos!_/

Sure enough, on the field the cursed magic was shrinking around the defeated Pharaoh. Raphael was chuckling.

"Time for you to pay up Pharaoh!"

Everyone blinked, as through the green haze of the Seal, Yugi's spiritual form suddenly appeared from nowhere and shoved Yami firmly out of the way. The Pharaoh looked equally shocked.

"Yugi? No! What are you doing here?!"

Yugi looked sadly at his other self.

"It only needs one of us. So I'm letting the Seal take me instead."

Memory Yami looked aghast. Watching from outside, the present day Pharaoh was feeling exactly the same again, the shame crashing down on him like the wrath of an Egyptian God.

Finally the light faded and Yami passed out at Raphael's feet.

"Adios your highness," Raphael taunted.

Yami's clenched fists were shaking.

/_I failed…I sold you out. Yugi…how could I do that…_/

/_Stop it!_/ Yugi said, so fiercely that Yami physically jumped. /_This is just what Voldemort wanted to happen Yami! You've gone back to doubting yourself!_/

/_But Yugi_…/

/_But nothing!_/ Yugi said, turning to glare at him. /_You've already beaten your darkness. You faced me in Death Valley and you beat it back. You put it behind you so you could save me…so you could save all of us!_/

Gently, he took the Pharaoh's hand, relishing that this was one of the few times he could actually touch his other self.

/_You've already won this battle_/ he said. /_You don't have to fight it again_/

The whir of a helicopter jolted the two back to the vision. Raphael was clambering up a rope ladder, the used Seal and the stone from around Yami's neck clutched in one hand, the Pharaoh's unconscious form under his other arm.

"HEY YOU!" came a furious voice, in a nasal Brooklyn accent. Everyone turned to see a small group of people standing on the cliff on the other side of a broken bridge. Harry recognised Weevil and Rex from when the two had duelled Bakura and Malik before the Easter holidays. Two of the other boys he didn't know, but the one who was shouting he knew was Joey Wheeler.

"Take your hands off him!" Joey barked, angrily. Raphael threw the body under his arm at the group.

"Fine!"

Yugi's body collided with Joey and Tristan, who landed flat on the ground with groans of pain.

"Are you guys alright?" Duke asked in surprise.

"You can keep him!" Raphael said smirking. "I already have everything of his I need."

And with Raphael laughing loudly, the helicopter began to climb away from the ragged mess of cliffs.

"GET BACK HERE! Y'HEAR ME?!" Joey bellowed in a rage.

"Yugi!" Tristan said, cradling his friend's body.

"Speak to us!" Duke begged.

The scene seemed to brighten until finally it was gone, leaving them all standing in the void of white light again, all of them shaken to their core.

There would be no more visions, but Yami didn't want to see anymore. He didn't need to see the aftermath of that battle to remember how he had reacted. He had never felt so empty as he had when Yugi's soul was ripped from his own…and it had all been because of him.

He was jolted out of his dark thoughts by someone running into him.

"How could you do that?!" Hermione sobbed, weakly shaking him by the jacket. "How could you?!"

She was pulled away by Ron, and allowed herself to be restrained by the equally furious red-head.

"You knew that card was evil," Ron said angrily. "You played it even though you knew that would happen if you lost."

"It's not like that guys!" Yugi piped up. "Yami had no choice!"

Harry was utterly stunned. "How can you defend him after what he did to you? He handed your soul to the Orichalcos!"

"I volunteered!" Yugi retorted angrily.

But Yami was looking away again. He knew how this must appear. All three of them, Harry in particular, had been weary of the spirits ever since they had found out about them. Now they knew the darker side of their nature, and had witnessed it, they would never trust them again. In their minds, he was no better than a Death Eater.

"So that's it?" Ron asked. "We've just learned that the Pharaoh sells his friend's souls for a taste of power, and oh yeah, Malik also had a warped other self who went around killing his family, and you think that's okay?"

"What do you want us to say?!" Ryou asked, the stress of the last half an hour or so finally bursting out of him in a wave of hysteria.

"Oh I don't know!" Ron said, a dry note entering his voice, which was rising in anger. "Any more secrets you'd like to share with us? Any more people you killed or left without souls that we should know about?"

"Everything we kept secret was to protect you and us!" Malik snapped. "People kill for the power we have. The magic we deal with leave death in its trail, and we were trying to keep you out of that trail! To prevent you from becoming victims!"

"Victims at whose hands?" Harry asked. "Yours? Because some of you seem to be just as dangerous as you claim your magic can be. Who really kills? Your powers, or the people who use them?!"

"STOP IT!" Yugi burst out, and everyone fell silent. Yugi's eyes were shining, but not with tears of sadness or frustration, but with anger. "We thought you would understand! Our world is a scary place guys! People die in our world; people lose their souls…we lose our friends when we're involved with this type of power. We thought if anyone, you lot might understand how that feels!"

"And what happens when your so called 'friends' turn against you?" Harry asked, glaring at the Pharaoh as he spoke.

"I just said!" Yugi protested. "Yami had no choice! And I've never held it against him! Not then, and not now."

He said the last part, mostly for Yami's benefit, and the Pharaoh felt a familiar surge of gratitude and affection for his Aibou.

"How could you be so sure he wouldn't do it again?" Hermione asked incredulously. "And how could he possibly make things better? Did he deserve forgiveness?"

"Did I?" Bakura asked suddenly. Everyone turned to stare at him. He had said nothing in the argument so far.

"Bakura…" Yami was stunned that the thief, of all people, was sticking up for him. Bakura gave Yami a frank look.

"We might not be best friends," Bakura said. "But I know what its like to be the Pharaoh because I am in exactly the same situation. If Ryou could forgive me for all the crap I put him through – and I put him through some Gods awful shit – " he added at Harry, Ron and Hermione's frowns. "Then we can forgive the Pharaoh for giving in just this once!"

"I agree," Ryou said. "The others forgave him and so do I."

"Me too," Malik said.

Words couldn't quite express how grateful Yami was to his friends at this point. The thing he had feared the most was that if Ryou, Bakura and Malik found out who had played the Seal in the duel where Yugi was lost, that they would immediately abandon him. Joey, Tristan and Duke he had not had time to worry about, as he had been busy beating himself up after losing Yugi, and he had barely noticed that his friends didn't seem to hold the loss against him. That and Yami knew they didn't quite have a clear concept of him as a separate entity from Yugi. In their minds, he was the Pharaoh, but Yugi and the Pharaoh blended together in so many ways, that for them it was very hard to distinguish between the two.

Even Tea, who had a much clearer concept of their difference (for reasons Yami didn't like to dwell on) had never held losing Yugi against him. On the contrary, she had tried her best to keep him in check in the aftermath, trying to talk him out of his depression, and stopping him from beating Weevil to within an inch of his life. Then there was Rebecca, who had of course been angry, and had held it against him for a while. But she had eventually got over it. She could hold a grudge till the ends of the Earth, but at the end of the day, when they had a world to save along with Yugi, she couldn't be mad for long.

And now, Malik, Ryou and Bakura had all forgiven him too – in some ways, asking for their forgiveness was harder, because he had deliberately kept it a secret from them for longer. He not only had to ask forgiveness for what he had done, but for withholding the information from them for a year. But they had let it go. And that, for Yami, was a huge relief and weight off his mind.

"I can't believe this," Harry muttered, looking at Yami as he spoke. "You sell your best friend out and you guys can just forgive him for it like that?"

"Could you?" Malik asked, looking pointedly between Harry, and then over at Ron and Hermione.

"They would never betray me like that!" Harry snapped back, glaring at the Egyptian, who glared right back.

"You're all mental…_this _is mental…" Ron was muttering. Hermione was still staring at Yami as though she had never really seen him before. Even as the corridor faded back into view suddenly, and Yami and Bakura became incorporeal again, she didn't take her eyes off the spot where he had been standing.

"I asked you Yugi," Harry said. "I specifically asked you if Yami had ever given you reason not to trust him. And you said no. If that wasn't a reason, I don't know what is. You lied to me."

He glanced over at his two best friends before turning back to the transfers.

"You lied to all of us."

And he turned and left the corridor without another word. Yugi and Ryou looked distraught, and Malik looked furious, though this was probably attributed to the Orichalcos stones in the bag around his belt, which had reappeared along with the corridor. Ron followed Harry almost immediately. Hermione looked as though she wanted to say something, but Ron persistently tugging on her hand, and her own fear held her back, and she followed too. Yugi, Ryou and Malik stood there, their own minds awash with all the emotion that the last half hour had put them through.

"They're never going to speak to us again are they?" Ryou asked in a sad voice. Malik snarled angrily and punched the nearest wall. Yugi just stared at the ground, completely numb to everything but the roaring in his ears that had appeared when their fellow Gryffindors had left.

It wasn't until later, as Yugi tried and failed to fall asleep that he realised what Voldemort's plan had been. It wasn't to upset the bearers or make them weaker. The whole event had been orchestrated to split them up.

And this was a battle that Voldemort had just won.

* * *

**A/N: **Yeah yeah, I'm kicking the canon in the arse by revealing bits of Yami's past, but this is my fanfic, so let me have my fun!

And now Harry-tachi are angry at the Yugi-tachi…well the course of friendship never did run smooth I suppose. And as an authoress it's my job to throw monkey wrenches at my characters heads. (throws one at Bakura, who ducks, and then at Yami and Malik, who don't duck fast enough) Ooops! Sorry boys!

With regards to which versions of YuGiOh I was following – Flashback one was of my own creation, though we know from flashbacks in the anime that this was how the Items were created, and Bakura was present when it happened, so I can't take credit for that. Flashback two was also my own creation. Flashback three was mostly mine, but it was based off what little we see of the initiation in the subbed anime. Flashback four was mostly subbed anime, but Marik throwing the skin on Odion happens in the manga. Flashback five was my own creation. And flashback six is dubbed anime.

Your reviews make me smile! I'm particularly keen to know what you thought of the flashbacks!


	28. Chapter 28: Red Eye, Blue Eye

**Disclaimer: **Still not owning a thing. Must we do this every time? *goes back to kicking Yami Marik on her DS* DIE YOU PORCUPINE HEADED FREAK!

**A/N: **RIGHT! The duel has been put up! (falls into an ungraceful heap).

This duel was written entirely by DuelistBlake1852. All credit goes to him.

For those of you who read the original drafts – I shifted more scenes into chapter 29, because this chapter was too long (this would break my Longest-Chapter-Ever-Written record, only most of it isn't my work, so I don't feel that it really counts for my personal record).

For now, enjoy and please don't come hunt me down for being so confusing.

* * *

**Chapter 28: Red Eye, Blue Eye**

Alastor Moody twitched as one of the young aurors carrying one end of the box, slipped on the pathway and dropped it. The auror on the other end staggered to a halt.

"Come on, keep moving!" Moody growled, and the auror who had stumbled immediately leaped back into place and picked up the other end. Moody's eyes, both normal and magical, swept over the six aurors accompanying him. Two carried the box, and four circled them, keeping an eye out for any suspicious individuals.

Moody then eyed the container. He did not like the contents within. He knew what those stones were, and what they were capable of unleashing. He was angry at the Ministry for demanding that Dumbledore hand them over for testing. The Department of Mysteries were crazy. Those things were unnatural, and not meant to be near human hands. The fact that the stones came with instructions not to touch them with bare flesh unless necessary should have proved that fact alone.

The auror growled. He was getting too old for this. He was retired for Merlin's sake! It was only the fact that the Dark Lord was back that had pushed him into the line of duty once more, right when the enemy had found a new toy to play with…

He shook his head. His thoughts were uncharacteristically bitter, and he guessed this was what Dumbledore had meant when he had said that the stones had a tendency to bring out people's darker emotions. He pitied all those poor kids in the school who had spent the last few weeks under their influence. They must have been ripping each others throats out.

An owl screeched from the darkness of the Forbidden Forest, and Moody spared it a glare. He would be glad when they were beyond the castle boundaries and back in Hogsmeade. There they would meet the other three members of their team, who had stayed behind to keep the way back clear.

"Almost there," he called over his shoulder, his magical eye spinning around to check his team. The four circling aurors had their heads down, focusing on their footsteps, making sure that they weren't the next ones to take an undignified tumble onto their ass. The two carrying the box looked pale and strained. Moody was concerned. Though the stones weren't heavy, they had resisted all attempts to be shrunk or charmed to be feather light. Moody wouldn't admit it, but he was nervous about apperating with those things. Sure the Death Eaters could apparently do it when they were wearing their stones, but who knew how so many of them would react to their magic?

All six of his companions stopped to a dead halt, and all drew their wands, pointing them ahead. Under any other circumstances, Moody might have admired their speed, but he had turned to see what they were pointing their wands at.

It was a person – a very small person, dressed in black robes, long blonde hair swaying slightly in the wind, catching the moonlight sharply. They stood in the middle of the pathway before them, blocking their way forward. Moody drew his own wand, his eyes narrowed. He didn't like this at all.

"Identify yourself!"

"Put the stones down."

The voice was female, but it was as though a darker tone had been spoken at the same time, over the top. Moody wasn't stupid. He knew whoever this person was, they were being controlled by some outside force.

"Stupefy!"

His stunning spell was broken a foot away from the figure by a green barrier. Moody saw a glow around her neck and he knew this person had a fragment of Orichalcos stone around her neck.

"They are here!"

The aurors whirled, only to find that they were surrounded by Death Eaters. The box of stones that had been abandoned on the ground pulsed with light. The figure on the pathway smiled, though no one could see it.

"Your souls belong to the Dark Lord."

A bubble of green light, exploded just inside the boundary of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As one body in particular hit the ground, the magical eye within dimmed slowly until it was a single white orb, resting still in the socket.

"Give the stones to me," the blonde figure demanded, their double toned voice sending shivers down all the Death Eater's spines. "I shall take them back to the castle. I shall shroud the students in darkness once more."

OOO

The last three weeks had been nothing short of hell.

There had been no reasoning with Harry, Ron or Hermione after that night, so Yugi had attempted to corner the boys the next morning before they went to breakfast. Harry and Ron had taken pains to avoid this however, and had adopted the same tactic that Ryou had been using all those months ago after they had read his letters – avoidance.

As speaking to them about the issue in the Great Hall was ill advised given the nature of the problem, Yugi, Ryou and Malik had had to endure the rest of the day being blatantly ignored. Every attempt they had made to talk to Harry, Ron and Hermione was ignored or walked away from. It drove all of them to despair. It seemed as though they had truly lost their friends.

And then the stones had returned.

True to their word, the stones had been handed over to Dumbledore that very evening, where the headmaster had informed them that the Department of Mysteries wanted the stones for testing. Yugi and Yami had both been unhappy about this – the stones were volatile and dangerous to any human being. But Dumbledore it seemed had no power to stop the Ministry, and any attempt to do so would be seen as him attempting to prevent research which could be used to stop the Orichalcos. Indeed, this was also the easiest way to get the stones out of the castle.

Eventually, knowing that the headmaster was unable to do anything to stop the stones from being taken away, Yugi and Yami had made Dumbledore promise to stress all the dangers to the aurors before he released the stones into their care. This the headmaster had promised to do, though it was clear from the look on Bakura's face as he had sworn this, that the thief did not believe him in the slightest.

And as it turned out, Bakura was right to be sceptical. The very morning after the stones had left, the castle was full of them again. The Ministry was keeping it quiet, but Dumbledore had explained (after the bearers had pushed into his office and demanded some answers) that the aurors had been attacked on their way to the Ministry, and the stones stolen. The supply was back in the castle, and all seven of the aurors were soulless in St Mungo's Hospital. Not wanting to risk losing anymore of their staff, the Ministry were leaving the stones where they were.

"I told you!" Bakura had ranted later that evening. "I told you Dumbledore and the Ministry were useless!"

No one had had the willpower to argue with him – not even Yami. And that night, the nightmares had begun again.

But the stones had another effect on behaviour too. Now Yugi, Ryou and Malik suddenly found themselves angry. What right did Harry, Ron and Hermione have to judge them? If they couldn't accept the good and bad about their past, then that was their loss. They knew their anger was probably being influenced by the stones, but it didn't make it any less strong. This thinking distressed Yugi and Ryou especially, who were unused to having so many negative thoughts. They often regretted them as soon as they thought them. But it didn't stop their anger growing, nor did it stop them from giving Harry, Ron and Hermione a cold shoulder.

But this new side to the avoidance strategy worked well for Harry and his friends, as none of them were in a hurry to talk to Yami and Bakura yet either. And since avoiding the spirits meant avoiding their hosts, they were avoiding Yugi and Ryou too, and Malik by default, as it was pretty clear whom his loyalty belonged too. The situation probably would not have lasted as long under normal circumstances, but the dark magic of the Orichalcos was sending everyone in the castle into a state of extreme depression, and none of them were in particularly forgiving moods.

Had they been in their right minds, Yami and Bakura might have encouraged their hikari's to at least try talking to Harry, Ron and Hermione again. But the truth was, neither one was in their right mind at the moment. Yami was still depressed at having his past experiences with the Orichalcos flung back into his face, and more specifically that of his friends. It was the worst thing he had ever done in his life, and he had just wanted it to remain over and done with. But now his secret was out, and it was causing even more problems, for everyone.

But while Yami was too depressed to care about the situation with Harry, Ron and Hermione, Bakura on the other hand could not have given a damn whether Harry and his friends ever decided to speak to them again. He had more important issues on his mind. He, like the others had spent the first week in a depressed state after reliving such horrible memories. His mother and sisters wove in and out of his dreams so much that he was sure he could see them in his waking hours too. This depression had turned to anger eventually, and a desire to make Harry, Ron and Hermione suffer for upsetting them all this way. But that had not lasted long either, as two weeks after the fallout, something happened to drive the fight out of the Item bearers minds.

Over the last few days Bakura had noticed a change in Ryou's behaviour. His hikari was spacing out far more than normal. It had got to the stage where Professor McGonagall had stood next to him and repeated his name three times before he had realised she was standing there, and that was only because Malik had poked him in the side. The class had found this hilarious and Ryou had not stopped blushing all lesson. But Bakura knew his hikari was not just spacing out. He was sensing something very big approaching.

The next Divination lesson, Ryou had been reading his cards as he normally did, trying not to doze off in the smog of perfume. Bakura had been observing the other students, and rolling his eyes at the uselessness of their skills, when he had felt a dark sense of unease, and saw that Ryou was spacing out again in front of a tarot spread. The hikari's face was drained of colour and his hands trembled as he examined the cards before him. Bakura had taken one look at the spread, and his hikari's jumbled thoughts and begun cursing. Ryou had swept the cards into his bag and raced from the room, much to Professor Trelawny's shock and outrage.

The three transfers had been going around the school as normal as they could, but everyone knew they had had some kind of falling out with Harry, Ron and Hermione, though no one knew exactly what they had fallen out over. So to avoid them at free times, Yugi, Ryou and Malik had been taking shelter in the library, and it was in here that Ryou had stumbled to meet Yugi and Malik, looking as though he had just fought off a gang of dementors.

"Who died?" Malik had asked in a bitter voice. Yugi had gasped at him.

"Don't say that Malik!" he shuddered. He was not taking any sentence said lightly anymore, and he did not want to tempt fate. "What is it Ryou?"

"He saw something," Bakura said cryptically, appearing in spirit form beside a pile of books.

"What, in the cards?" Malik asked.

"Yes in the cards, where else?" the thief had snapped. Ryou, rather than turning back to his normal colour, seemed to be getting paler.

"Would you like some firewhisky Ryou?" Malik had asked, thinking he was being helpful.

"Do you want me to slap you Ishtar?" Bakura had retorted.

"Stop it," Ryou had said, trying to get his breathing under control. "I'm okay…I just saw something…"

"What did you see?" Yugi had said gently. "Tell us Ryou."

Ryou had swallowed thickly before reciting his conclusion.

"_A family shall be torn apart, and darkness shall fall to the earth once more…_"

Yugi and Yami had exchanged fearful looks. They had lost their friends in the school…and now Ryou had seen a family being destroyed…who was going to suffer next? There wasn't much more they could take before it all became too much.

OOO

Yawning widely, Joey tried in vain to focus on the text in the book in front of him. It was futile. He hadn't been sleeping well over the past few weeks. Originally he had put it down to sleepless nights thanks to his father's loud returns from the bar. But slowly a feeling of dread had crept into his stomach, refusing to shift. It almost felt like a sickness that was about to reach its peak, but kept dying down before it could completely corrupt his body. One thing was for sure, something horrible was coming.

The latest letter from Yugi, had done little to ease Joey's nerves. The message had arrived a few days ago via Taiyo, explaining that Yugi, Ryou and Malik had had a fight with their British friends. It sent an angered look across Joey's face when he thought of a bunch of people being unkind and unforgiving to his friends, especially when the events that had caused this were well in the past. Everyone had secrets, and they had a right to keep them…

"Mr Wheeler," the teacher's voice cut through Joey's musings, and he jumped, realising he had been giving the sentence on the whiteboard a particularly vicious glare. "Any reason you were looking to burn holes in the whiteboard?"

"Sorry Sensei," Joey said in a demure voice, and turned his attention back to his notes. Around him, his classmates giggled before the teacher brought their attention back to the days lecture. Joey registered vaguely that he was supposed to be taking notes on English business protocol, but his mind was elsewhere. This lesson was a snooze usually, but every time the teacher mentioned the word 'English' his thoughts turned to his friends currently stuck in that country.

A few rows down, Tristan, turned his head slightly and threw Joey a wink before going back to feigning attention at the board. Joey grinned. Yugi might be gone, but at least he still had Tristan and Tea to look out for. It didn't stop the school from feeling empty though, with three of their team missing. He knew they were helping in England, but Joey couldn't help but hope that Yugi, Ryou and Malik would come back at the end of this term. He missed them painfully.

His eyes wandered over the class, coming to a rest on the upright CEO, two rows behind him. Why Kaiba even bothered coming to school was beyond him. Joey guessed that it didn't look very good if Rich Boy didn't have his High School diploma…never mind that by sixteen he was already head of one of Japan's most successful companies.

Sweet relief was fast coming as the bell for the lunch period rang out. Joey repressed the urge to cheer aloud, and instead opted for putting his books away in his desk slowly along with the rest of his classmates. There were bangs and clatters as the students began to move their desks together to form their lunch tables. Joey saw Tea rush out of the room as fast as she could, probably going to book a meeting with the guidance councillor. She was already researching and applying for various dance schools in the US, and she was using all the help available to her (though Joey reckoned part of this was to take her mind off missing Yugi so much). He stretched and wondered vaguely if there would be any juice left in the vending machine.

"Hey Joey," Tristan dragged his chair over to Joey's desk. "Zoning out again?"

"Oh like you were any better," Joey snorted, before turning serious. "I'm just worried about Yugi, Ryou and Malik…I hope they come back after this term. They aren't happy in England, I can tell."

Tristan couldn't help but nod in agreement. He'd been having similar thoughts himself.

"Any news from Yugi yet?"

Only Kaiba could be awkward enough to interrupt Joey just as he was about to suggest they got food. He tried very hard not to let his irritation show, but it was difficult. The CEO had been hounding Joey non-stop since Easter, wanting to know if they had any leads on Voldemort that he could look into from his end. Joey knew it was only the fact that Kaiba wanted to get even with the Dark Lord that meant the CEO would even consider talking to him in a civil tone of voice.

"Not since three days ago," Joey shook his head. "You know they can't reply that quickly Kaiba. It takes a week for Yugi's owl to get one way, so stop nagging me."

Kaiba scowled. "I can't help it if you geeks are so pathetic you need to send message by a bird. It would be much easier for Yugi to email me…"

"And we keep telling you," Joey said through gritted teeth. "That electronics don't work at…" he looked around, to check no one was listening, before dropping his voice, "their school. So get off my back. I'll let you know if Yugi sends me a letter."

The gaze of Seto Kaiba was enough to freeze just about anyone, but Joey had spent most of the last few years on the end of that glare, so he was used to it. "Believe me, I have better things to do all day than get information off you Mutt. So just make sure you pass it to me, and I will happily do as you suggest, and _get off your back_."

"Would you quit calling me that?!" Joey snapped, his temper rising further, and Tristan tensed just in case his friend decided to go for the CEO's throat. "I ain't no dog!"

"Then why do you yap like one?" Kaiba smirked, before sweeping out of the door. His mobile phone rang on cue, as soon as he stepped over the threshold.

Joey rolled his eyes. Rich Boy was never going to change.

"Ignore him Joey," Tristan said bracingly. "Come on, let's go get some food."

Still irritated, Joey stomped out behind his friend, with no intentions other than getting something to eat and forgetting about Rich Boy. Students passed him in the corridor, some of them already carrying their own meals back to their classrooms to eat. A few of the freshmen cowered slightly. Joey smiled slightly. He could hardly believe that two years ago that had been him…he had been very different back then. He didn't have Yugi and Tea as friends for a start. He certainly hadn't given a shit about anyone beyond himself and Tristan. And he definitely did not fit the criteria of 'nice guy'. Things were so much better now.

A hand almost yanked Joey off his feet, and pulled him into an empty classroom. Tristan, seeing his friend stumble, was by his side instantly. Joey made to attack whoever it was who had seen fit to tug him into a deserted computer lab, but the tall, beanpole figure gave it away and he held back the urge to punch Kaiba where he stood. The CEO was still on his phone, his eyes narrowed in anger.

"I warn you people," his voice was as cold as ice. "If you've done anything to harm my little brother…"

Joey felt his stomach clench. It sounded like Mokuba was in trouble…and there was only one reason the CEO could have yanked Joey and Tristan into this – it involved the Orichalcos.

"Fine, we will be there."

And he hung up.

"We're going Wheeler."

It was an order, not a request. Joey's eyes narrowed.

"That was the Death Eaters? They've taken Mokuba?" he deducted. Kaiba's mouth was a grim line as he hastily pressed two on his speed dial for Roland, intending to order that the limo get down to the school as fast as humanly possible.

"And your sister."

At this, Joey's carefully control rage exploded.

"They've taken Serenity?!" he was livid. How dare they drag his sister into this! Kaiba was already heading out of the door, and Joey, anger pouring off every inch of his being, raced after him. Tristan was hot on his heels.

"Where have they taken them both?" he demanded.

"None of your business Taylor," Kaiba snapped, in a low voice now that they were out in the corridor again, where anyone could hear them. "You are staying right here. They asked for the chosen duellists to be present only."

"I don't take orders from you Kaiba!"

"Tristan he's right," as much as it pained Joey to admit that Kaiba was correct about anything, he didn't want Tristan getting involved in this right now. Two students vanishing from school in the middle of the day would be difficult enough to explain. And besides, someone needed to tell Tea.

"Stay here and tell Tea where we've gone," Joey ordered, as Kaiba swung the front door of the school open dramatically. Joey rolled his eyes. "Could you keep it down Rich Boy? When you're sneaking out, banging doors is not the best way to go about it!"

"Oh and I suppose you'd be an expert on sneaking out of buildings to chase postmen, right Mutt?"

Joey would have started a loud argument, were it not for the fact that they were trying not to get caught, and the fact that Tristan decided to interrupt again.

"You don't seriously think I'm staying behind after…" Tristan never got any further. Kaiba whirled around and grabbed Tristan by the collar.

"Listen to me Taylor! I am not going to have you getting in my way while I rescue Mokuba! So we are leaving the school, and you are going to stay here, and deal with it."

And with that, he threw Tristan roughly to one side. Joey's eyes narrowed.

"Kaiba! I'm coming with you to rescue Mokuba and Serenity, but I swear if you treat my friend like that again…"

It was obvious from the way Kaiba turned and continued heading for the school gates, that he honestly didn't care about whatever threat Joey was about to give. In the distance, Joey could hear a screeching of tyres, and he knew that Kaiba hadn't been exaggerating when he had ordered his limo to get there as fast as humanly possible.

"Tristan. Please, just stay here. Tell Tea where we've gone. If the teachers ask…tell them whatever you can. Kaiba will probably smooth it over later. We will get them back, and we'll be fine."

"Joey…" Tristan was not happy about this in the slightest, and his tone of voice made it clear.

"Just trust me man," Joey implored, hurrying after Kaiba, trying not to look at his friend. Because the truth of the matter was, he had a very bad feeling about this upcoming encounter, and he did not want his friend involved…enough people had been hurt already.

OOO

The building the Death Eaters had directed them to was painfully familiar to Joey. It was the rooftop where he, Yugi, Tea and Tristan had pursued the Swordsman of the Orichalcos after they had stolen the God cards. It was up here that Yugi and the Pharaoh had been forced to duel Gurimo, and they had had their first true encounter with the magic of the Orichalcos, and the Seal.

As they climbed to the rooftop, Joey felt a shiver of dread. He couldn't explain exactly what it was that made him so uneasy, only that it now felt like the stomach-ache he had had for the past few weeks was reaching its peak…and this time, it wasn't going to stop. From the pinched look on Kaiba's face, Joey knew the CEO felt it too.

As soon as they vaulted the top of the building, and landed on the concrete, two voices split the air.

"Seto!"

"Joey!"

Their voices had not carried well over the wind, but there was no mistaking them. Mokuba and Serenity, still wearing their respective school uniform's, were bound off to one side of the rooftop with what looked like streams of magical energy. Joey guessed it was some form of wizard magic. Before Joey and Seto had the chance to respond to their siblings, two dark chuckles cut through the air.

"Bang on time," a thick Scottish accent stated. "At least they're punctual about their demise."

"Who's there?!" Joey barked.

"Identify yourselves!" Kaiba growled.

"With pleasure," a female voice replied, cool as anything, and before Joey and Kaiba appeared two very familiar looking duellists. It was Angus and Raquel, the two Death Eaters that had been British Regional semi finalists. Kaiba narrowed his eyes and Joey growled at them.

"You two! Yugi warned us that you were working for Voldemort!"

"You're sharper than most of the duelling circuit give you Wheeler," Raquel said, her long black hair whipping out behind her in the wind, in a similar manner to her cloak. "But maybe I'm giving you too much credit. After all, given that we've got your little siblings hostage, even you could work that out."

"Listen you two lowlifes!" Kaiba's voice had gone beyond icy, and was now cold enough to freeze hydrogen. "You made a big mistake getting my little brother involved in this!"

"You make us sound so heartless Rich Boy," Angus stated. "As I recall, we had to work very hard just to knock those two out. Your little brat of a brother was raring to duel us when he realised who we were! The girl too for that matter."

"Serenity!" Joey couldn't help but yell reproachfully. Serenity just glared back slightly.

"You thought I was just going to sit there and let them knock me out?!"

"Too bad we weren't allowed to duel them first," Raquel shrugged.

"Yeah I'd have relished sending such powerful souls to our Master," Angus' grin was unholy.

"You won't get away with this!" Kaiba snapped. "By now both of their schools will have realised that they are missing!"

"_And Ma is going to kill me when she realises that Serenity isn't in Tokyo anymore…" _Joey mentally winced.

"It doesn't matter," Raquel shrugged. "Our Master will make sure we won't be found for a while. And in the mean time…" she raised her left arm, upon which her duel disk rested. "How about we get down to business?"

Neither Joey nor Kaiba needed anymore prompting, and they both activated their own duel disks.

"Rules are simple," Angus stated. "One tag team duel – American rulings. Whoever wins, gets to keep those two. Whoever loses…well, you've been in enough Orichalcos duels. I'm sure you can figure it out."

Joey narrowed his eyes. While American rules would give them an extra field, it also meant he and Kaiba had less chance to help each other. Angus and Raquel must know that he and the CEO hated each other, and they must be hoping that they would be less inclined to work together. Joey wasn't thick. He knew that he would need Kaiba to back him up and vice verse if they were going to beat both of them, but the question was, would Kaiba be willing to do the same?

"Fine!" Kaiba barked. "Let's just get on with this!"

"Agreed," both the Death Eaters echoed, and they each switched on their wicked Duel-Disks and threw their decks into them.

Joey and Kaiba prepared to draw their opening hands, but paused as they were interrupted by the voice of the young cloaked woman.

"First, however, we need to decide the turn order," she explained. She turned towards her partner. "Angus, what do you think?"

"Oh, hurry up and decide who goes when already..." Kaiba grumbled under his breath. Only Joey picked up on it, and he couldn't help but agree with Kaiba, much as it pained him.

"Well, let's see..." Angus mused, his eyes flicking between the other three duellists back and forth. "Ladies first, as they say, so I believe you should take the first turn, Raquel. Then Wheeler can go second, I can go third, and Rich Boy over there follows behind us." He smirked at the other pair of duellists. "Does this sit well enough in your books, gentlemen?"

"Yeah, whatever!" Joey snapped impatiently. "Can we just duel already?!"

Raquel clicked her tongue tauntingly and drew her first six cards. "Someone really should have taught you some manners, Wheeler."

Joey growled a little, but he chose to hold his tongue and draw his own opening hand instead. Kaiba and Angus both followed suit, and all four duellists shouted the same phrase at the exact same moment: "Let's duel!"

**(Raquel: 8,000 Life Points)----(Joey: 8,000 Life Points)----(Angus: 8,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 8,000 Life Points)**

"As Angus over here suggested, I'm going to lead us off!" Raquel proclaimed before studying her opening hand. After taking a moment to consider her options, she selected just one card. "I'll set a Monster in Defence Mode, and that will be the end of my turn!"

Joey smirked at her as he drew his card. "What's wrong, lady? I take it you've got a hand so bad, all you can do is hide?"

Raquel chuckled and shook her head. "Just as I suspected. Obviously you do not know good duelling strategy when it's staring you right in the face, Wheeler."

Joey opened his mouth to make a comeback, but Kaiba shot a retort at him before he could.

"Will you just can it and play already, Wheeler?!" he snarled. "I've got someone who needs rescuing!"

"And so do I, what's your point?" Joey snapped back at him. Then he sighed and looked at his cards. "Okay...I guess what I've got here will do. I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in Attack Mode!"

The agile knight covered in black metal armour leapt onto the field and let out a vicious battle cry. The blades on his arm-shields flashed malevolently as he glared at Angus and Raquel. (ATK: 1,800/ DEF: 1,600)

"Then I'll place one card facedown and end my turn," Joey added. "So, big guy, think you can outplay what I've laid out for ya?"

Angus ignored his question outright and made a draw to commence his turn. "Hmmm...this one looks good..." he muttered to himself as he looked at his cards. "But then again, there's always that one...decisions these days...so very difficult to make."

Joey lost his patience rather quickly and started to hope that the Death Eater would hurry up and make a move. "Well?" he growled.

Angus looked up with a smirk at last. "I guess this will do! I begin by calling forth my Mad Dog of Darkness in Attack Mode!"

A loud snarl echoed around the wooden arena as a huge and disturbing-looking hound with rough orange skin and a vicious set of fangs materialized in front of the beefy Scottish man. A set of horns poked out of its head, and drool leaked from its fangs as it glared with its insane eyes. (ATK: 1,900/ DEF: 1,400)

Kaiba wasn't fazed by this. "What, you're giving me a second mutt to deal with for the day?" he sneered. "Sorry, not interested."

He felt Joey's glare burning holes into the side of his head, yet he completely ignored it. Angus chuckled at this and exchanged a smirk with Raquel. Both of them had been counting on the uneasy relationship between Kaiba and Joey to work in their favour, and it seemed that their plan would be successful after all.

"If I may continue, gentlemen, " Angus went on, "no-one may make an attack until everyone has taken at least one Draw Phase, so your Iron Knight's time is not up yet, Wheeler. However, my move is not done. I play the Spell Card, Terraforming!"

Joey and Kaiba flinched a little. That card allowed its user to select one Field Spell in his deck and add it to his hand. And they both had a sick feeling that they knew just the one that Angus would decide on. Sure enough, as the card slipped out of Angus's deck and was swiped up by the Death Eater himself, and as Angus gave an evil grin and displayed it to them, they were proved just right.

"And I take it you two already knew what I'm choosing!" he laughed. "In that case, prepare, for only the _sole _survivors will be standing after this! I activate...the Seal of Orichalcos!"

The familiar green pentagram drew itself around his feet, and it immediately grew in size for until the other three duellists were enclosed within it as well. The two Death Eaters exploded into fits of laughter as their foreheads each lit up with the symbol of the Orichalcos and their eyes turned red from the darkness rearing its heads within them.

Mokuba and Serenity cried out for their siblings, but neither of them gave a reply, their focus only on Angus, Raquel, and the Mad Dog of Darkness, who had also fallen under the influence of the Orichalcos as its stats raised according to the effect of the cursed Field Spell. (ATK: 1,900/ DEF: 1,400) - (ATK: 2,400/ DEF: 1,400)

"Bet you wish you had power like this, eh?" Angus taunted.

Although that it was obvious Kaiba was fighting to resist the cold feeling that had settled itself inside his chest, the CEO managed to conceal it with a roll of his eyes. "Please, you can't scare me with mind tricks. Just finish your move!"

"Well, as that's all I can do for my turn, you can go ahead and come up with a feeble plan to save yourself now." Angus waved a dismissive hand at Kaiba, who snorted and drew his sixth card.

"Me? Save myself?" he asked. "I think _you _are the one who's going to need some saving soon! To start off, I activate the Spell Card, Polymerization, so that I may fuse together my Versago the Destroyer and my Divine Dragon Ragnarok from my hand! Versago's effect allows me to treat him as a substitute for a Fusion-Material Monster whenever I conduct a fusion, so in this case he's taking the place of my Lord of Dragons!"

Two ghostly silhouettes appeared beside him, with one of them being a many-armed fiend in green scarves with purple claws and the other being a long, sleek dragon with white skin that had a pink tinge to it. The two of them swirled into one another, and Angus and Raquel had to cover their eyes from the glare.

When the light dimmed a little, they chanced it and looked again, only to have their jaws fall open in amazement at what they were seeing. Occupying Kaiba's field was a creature with the magnificent golden body of a dragon for a lower half and a man's chest, arms, and head for the upper half. A pair of black wings sprouted from its back, and a mane of fur similar to that of Divine Dragon Ragnarok's surrounded its neck. It wore a golden helmet forged in the shape of a dragon's claw, and it also carried an instrument that looked like the Flute of Summoning Dragon. (ATK: 2,400/ DEF: 1,100)

"Meet a new acquisition for my deck!" Kaiba announced with triumph. "King Dragun!"

Joey could not take his eyes off the Fusion Monster. "Whoa...man, Kaiba, where'd ya get that guy?" he gasped.

Kaiba turned a deaf ear to the question and selected a fourth card in his hand. "Now allow me to explain one of his effects," he offered. "Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Dragon-type Monster of any level from my hand!" His cold blue eyes flashed with growing confidence. "And I think you can guess just who I'm summoning with this effect! Come forth...Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Mokuba let out a joyful cheer, which was immediately eclipsed by an even louder shriek as the gigantic yet beautiful form of the draconic engine of destruction materialized and snarled with anger at the Mad Dog of Darkness, who yowled in fright and covered its head with its paws. Powerful gusts of wind blew over the rooftop each time the Blue-Eyes White Dragon beat its strong wings. (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 2,500)

Angus looked just as intimidated as his Monster, but Raquel was perfectly calm. Her finger caressed her Disk's centerpiece...

"You put Mokuba in danger, so now it's time for you to suffer the consequences!" bellowed Kaiba. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon, put that mangy mutt down for good with your White Lightning Attack!"

Blue-Eyes White Dragon fired forth a beam of bright-blue energy, which incinerated the Mad Dog of Darkness into nothing but ashes before it had the chance to howl its agony. Some of the small flames from the blast licked at Angus's skin too, making him hiss and jump back a little. Clearly the power of this dragon was nothing to be underestimated.

**(Raquel: 8,000 Life Points)----(Joey: 8,000 Life Points)----(Angus: 7,400 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 8,000 Life Points)**

"Now it's King Dragun's turn to have his shot!" Kaiba continued. "Attack Angus directly with Flaming Scourge!"

King Dragun aimed his flute at the defenceless Scotsman and unleashed an inferno of orange flames upon him. Angus wished he could just scurry out of the way, but even through his anger, which the Orichalcos was feeding, he knew he couldn't, so he stood there and took the hit head-on. His scream could be heard amongst the roaring of the flames, and still Raquel was not bothered by the circumstances unfolding in front of her.

**(Raquel: 8,000 Life Points)----(Joey: 8,000 Life Points)----(Angus: 5,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 8,000 Life Points)**

When the after effects of the firestorm cleared away, Angus was seen laying facedown on the ground, his robes issuing smoke, and a few spots on the wooden floor sported scorch marks. The man growled as he pulled himself to his feet and glared at Kaiba. "Are you just about done?" he snarled.

"For now, yes," Kaiba shrugged, but he couldn't hide the smug grin forming on his lips. "I believe it's Raquel's move now."

Raquel picked up her next card from her deck and pointed to the Monster that the other three duellists seemed to have neglected. "I Flip Summon my facedown Monster...A Cat of Ill Omen!"

The facedown Monster Card flipped over to reveal the small yet plump black cat that Bakura had used against the Pharaoh in their duel at the Hogwarts Quidditch Stadium. The Orichalcos symbol drew itself on its forehead, and it started giving off demonic hisses through its teeth. (ATK: 500/ DEF: 300) - (ATK: 1,000/ DEF: 300)

"And that activates his Flip-Effect!" Raquel exclaimed. "Which allows me to-"

"-to take any Trap Card you have in your deck and then place it on the top," Kaiba interrupted, rolling his eyes again. "Tell me something I don't know."

Raquel glared at him, but obliged nonetheless. "Indeed. And I know just the Trap Card to pick. It's the one that I've labelled as the key card of my entire strategy...Bad Reaction to Simochi!"

Her chosen Trap Card popped out of her deck. She grabbed it and shoved it back into the holder, being careful to place it on top of the deck this time. Then she plunged another of her cards into a slot. "But I'm going to get it right away, with a little thing called Pot of Greed! Now I can draw two cards!"

The symbolic jar in Duel Monsters that represented the sin of greed appeared in front of her before exploding, and Raquel eagerly drew her next two cards, one of them being her Bad Reaction to Simochi.

Joey was very confused about what Raquel was doing. "What the heck's so important about that card that you've got to add it to your hand right away?" he asked.

"You'll see very soon, I guarantee that," Raquel snickered at him. "Now, I activate another Spell Card!" She held up a second card with a green border. "It's called Goblin Thief. This allows me to drain away five-hundred Life Points from your score and add them to mine...only, since I'm facing two opponents, I'll have to choose one of you to use this on. So who will it be...ah, I know!" She gave Joey an unholy grin not unlike Angus's. "I think I'll choose you, Wheeler!"

A red aura flared around Joey's body, and the young man winced in agony as he felt some energy leaving his body. Raquel, on the other hand, glowed with an eerie green light to match the glow from the Seal of Orichalcos as her Life Points went up.

**(Raquel: 8,500 Life Points)----(Joey: 7,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 5,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 8,000 Life Points)**

"Joey!" Serenity cried, fearing for the condition of her brother. "Are you all right?!"

Joey gave a grunt, but managed to flash a thumbs-up at Serenity. She took that as a good enough sign that he was okay, and allowed herself to relax a little.

"Wheeler..." Kaiba growled through his teeth as he glared at Joey. "Don't you dare mess this up now..."

"Oh, cram a sock in it, Rich Boy!" retorted Joey. "I'll be fine!"

"Not for long you will be, and neither will Kaiba," Raquel warned him. "It's still my move, and I have three more cards to play. Two of them are going facedown, and the third is a Monster I'm placing in Defence Mode..."

The holograms of three brown-backed cards facing towards the floor materialized at her bidding, surrounding the tainted Cat of Ill Omen. Joey and Kaiba shared a similar thought while glaring at the facedown cards. One of them was obviously Bad Reaction to Simochi.

"I'm ending my turn now," Raquel announced. "So feel free to take over, Wheeler."

Joey was all too willing to take that challenge. He drew another card. "I'd be glad to, lady! First, I summon one of my old favourites to the field...Axe Raider in Attack Mode!"

A muscular barbarian wearing a golden chest plate of armour and guards on his elbows and knees charged out onto the field and swung his axe in a dramatic gesture. He looked towards Gearfried, and the two Warriors nodded at each other. (ATK: 1,700/ DEF: 1,150)

"Before you go any further, Wheeler," Raquel intervened, punching a button on her Disk, "I'll activate one of my Trap Cards - Bad Reaction to Simochi!"

One of her Trap Cards lifted up. It had a picture of a sickly woman sitting on her knees surrounded by a cloud of thick brown gas. The sight of the card was enough to give Joey an uneasy feeling.

"But don't you worry, this Continuous Trap's effect doesn't take place just yet," Raquel assured him with a mock comforting tone. "So by all means, continue your move."

Joey frowned. He stared intently at Raquel's other facedown card. _If she thinks I don't know what her Bad Reaction to however-you-pronounce-it does, she's very wrong. That Trap Card will activate whenever Kaiba and I try to gain Life Points, so that instead of gaining them, we lose them! So could her other facedown card be something to heal our Life Points so that her Continuous Trap will go to work? Better yet, what Monster did she set facedown?_

He was yanked out of his thoughts by a familiar growling voice.

"Hurry up, Wheeler!" Angus barked. "We'd like to be done here before the next millennium begins, if you don't mind!"

"Rude much?" Joey scowled. "I was just doing a little thinking here!"

"Or perhaps you're just too scared to attack because of what my facedown cards could possibly be?" Raquel jeered. "I suppose it's fitting. A dog running away in fear with his tail between his legs. But I guess I can't blame you; nobody likes walking into a trap. Heck, not even I do!"

That touched a nerve in Joey. Kaiba had flung that insult at him for long enough. Having to hear it from somebody else was enough to grate heavily on his self-restraint. "Oh, you asked for it!" he yelled. "Gearfried, slice up her pet cat!"

Gearfried the Iron Knight jumped forward and slammed his arm-shields into the poor cat, flattening it with ease. Raquel cringed a little, but shrugged it off rather quickly.

**(Raquel: 7,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 7,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 5,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 8,000 Life Points)**

Kaiba's frustration started to boil again. _That idiot! _he seethed. _He fell for that trick like a ton of bricks! He should have gone for Angus - we'd have been able to get him closer to defeat and put Raquel in a really bad situation! Leave it to the street pup to always get in my way..._

"Now Axe Raider, attack her facedown Monster!" Joey ordered. "Axe Slam Attack!"

As Gearfried leapt backwards and returned to Joey's side, Axe Raider charged towards his own target and cleaved it in half with his axe. The ghost of a small tree with its branches on fire appeared above the damaged facedown card before vanishing into thin air along with the card's remains.

"You just destroyed my Burning Algae," Raquel informed Joey. "Doing so would normally grant you one-thousand extra Life Points...but due to the effect of Bad Reaction to Simochi, that gain is converted into damage to you for the same amount!"

Joey's insides suddenly burned with such heat, it was like _they _had caught fire. He screamed and fell to his knees. Even when the pain subsided, his body was still shaking from the torture.

**(Raquel: 7,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 6,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 5,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 8,000 Life Points)**

Raquel let out a peal of laughter. "Aw, what's the matter?" she giggled. "Too much for you to handle? Well as they say, if you can't stand the heat...stay out of the kitchen! Or in this case, stay out of an Orichalcos duel!"

_Man... _Joey's muscles screamed in protest as the young man pulled himself back into a standing position. _I almost forgot that the Monsters were real in an Orichalcos duel...I should be used to this by now..._

"Fine, I have to end my turn!" he shouted.

Angus drew a card and fixed an ugly glare on Kaiba. "Well now, Kaiba, I'd like to dish out some payback for your treatment of me earlier! You and your precious dragons will feel the primal wrath of _my _mighty beasts!"

King Dragun and Blue-Eyes White Dragon did not take kindly to the threat being issued to their master, a fact made obvious by the roars they directed towards Angus. But Kaiba just smirked. "After a poor first turn you pulled a bit ago, you'll forgive me if I'm not convinced at all. Talk is cheap."

"And so is this!" Angus yanked a card out of his bulky hand. "I summon Berserk Gorilla in Attack Mode!"

The huge gorilla with flaming orange skin appeared on his corner of the field and let out a loud roar, beating its muscular chest as it did. It stopped right when the Seal etched itself onto its forehead and started snarling in a feral manner instead. (ATK: 2,000/ DEF: 1,000) - (ATK: 2,500/ DEF: 1,000)

"Ugh, this is the third time I'm seeing that stupid thing!" Joey complained.

"And I can assure you that this'll be the final time you'll meet him!" Angus laughed. "But my business is not with you right now, Wheeler, but rather it's with your partner! Berserk Gorilla, snap that King Dragun's neck!"

Berserk Gorilla crouched down on its legs and prepared to pounce, but Joey reacted just in time by activating his facedown card. "Not so fast, big guy! I reveal my Graceful Dice card!"

The tiny pink cherub with wings on its hat flew out of the card, carrying its big blue die. Mokuba and Serenity exchanged surprised looks. They knew well enough that Joey hated Kaiba, yet he was helping him out? The CEO was equally confused, but his face didn't show it.

Angus, however, was actually smirking. It was as if he had been hoping that Joey would do something like that...

"And guess what, Angus?" Joey smirked. "I may not be good at math, but from the looks of things, it won't matter what number I get with my Graceful Dice, your Berserk Gorilla's still going down!" He turned to look at the cherub. "Okay, little guy, do your thing!"

The cherub gave a nod of consent and threw its blue die on the floor. It bounced around a few times before it landed on one of its corners and started spinning like a wheel. Everyone's gazes were locked squarely onto the die...

Finally, it came to a stop and fell on one side, revealing a three on its top face. At once the Attack and Defense Points of the Monsters on Kaiba and Joey's fields each went up by three-hundred, so that they were in a far better battle-ready condition than the Berserk Gorilla. (ATK: 2,400/ DEF: 1,100) - (ATK: 2,700/ DEF: 1,400), (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 2,500) - (ATK: 3,300/ DEF: 2,800), (ATK: 1,800/ DEF: 1,600) - (ATK: 2,100/ DEF: 1,900), (ATK: 1,700/ DEF: 1,150) - (ATK: 2,000/ DEF: 1,450)

"Not too shabby!" commented a cheerful Joey. "So, King Dragun, care to see our hairy friend off?"

King Dragun looked a little annoyed that he was being commanded by Joey, but he obeyed nonetheless. He fired another blast of hellish fire from his flute, and it enveloped the terrified Berserk Gorilla and incinerated it into ashy remnants of burnt hairs. But rather than scream with fury, Angus chuckled instead.

**(Raquel: 7,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 6,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 4,800 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 8,000 Life Points)**

Kaiba snapped an irritated scowl towards Joey. "Wheeler, if ever I wanted your help, I would have asked for it," he hissed, though even he could not deny that if Joey had not done that, his King Dragun would have been obliterated. But he certainly was not going to say _that _out loud, least of all in the presence of Joey.

"Kaiba, don't be stupid," Joey chastised him. "This is a tag duel, so if we expect to win, we're gonna have to help each other out! I know you don't like me, and I certainly don't like you, but I'm not stupid enough to try to take them on by myself! And I know you're not either!"

"Don't you start on that teamwork speech, mutt," Kaiba warned. "Yugi's blathered on about it enough as it is. I am more than skilled enough to handle these fools on my own, so don't get in my way, you hear me?"

Joey sighed in defeat and turned his attention back to the duel. _He just never learns... _he thought. _Once he gets like that, there's no reasoning with him._

"Rich Boy has a good point, you know," said Angus, the sinister smirk still on his face. "You see, Wheeler, by helping him to destroy my Berserk Gorilla, you've managed to set the stage for the arrival of one of my greatest creatures. So thank you so much for the generosity!"

Joey blinked a few times, trying hard to register what Angus was saying. "Uh...whaddya mean?" he inquired. "You _wanted _us to destroy your Monster?"

"As a matter of fact, that was _precisely _what I wanted!" Angus answered. "When a Beast-type Monster I control is destroyed and sent to my Graveyard, I can Special Summon a rather unique Monster from either my hand or my Graveyard, for the cost of surrendering one-thousand more of my Life Points! Before you ask, I didn't do this last turn because I didn't draw the unique Monster in question until I started this turn! So get ready to come face-to-face with one of my personal favourites!"

**(Raquel: 7,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 6,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 3,800 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 8,000 Life Points)**

"Please," scoffed Kaiba. "I doubt this Monster of yours can defeat my Blue-Eyes _or _my King Dragun. You're just bluffing!"

"Am I?" Angus arched his thick eyebrows at him. "Well we'll just have to see!" He thrust a hand forward, as if preparing to cast some sort of curse on Kaiba. "Arise and prepare to defend your fellow forest denizens...Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest!"

A muscular, hairy arm suddenly broke through the surface of the wooden floor, and its owner used it to pull itself up into plain sight for the duellists to see. The sight was both hideous and frightening. It was a gigantic gorilla, with its bulky shoulders concealed in huge cocoon shells that served as its armour. It carried a long stick in its oversized hands. One could tell by just looking at this beast's face that it had almost no sanity left in its mind, especially with the Seal of Orichalcos lighting up its forehead and tinting its eyes with an evil red colour. (ATK: 2,600/ DEF: 1,800) - (ATK: 3,100/ DEF: 1,800)

"Man, that is one _ugly _Monster!" Joey cried out as he took a step backwards. Kaiba, on the other hand, was more worried that this creature would be stronger than his Blue-Eyes once the turn had passed.

"Not as ugly as what's about to happen next will be!" Angus countered. "Green Baboon, finish the job that Berserk Gorilla began and attack King Dragun! Primal Punch!"

The Defender of the Forest bellowed with uncontrollable anger and slammed its fist into King Dragun's mid-section. The Fusion Monster was knocked off the roof by the impact, and before it started to plummet to its death, it exploded into pixels in mid-air. Kaiba glared at Angus with anger that almost matched Green Baboon's.

**(Raquel: 7,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 6,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 3,800 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 7,600 Life Points)**

"You'll regret what you've just done..." he growled with a low voice.

"Yeah, sure I will." Angus wasn't swayed by his threat. "The effect of your partner's Graceful Dice will wear off at the end of my turn, which therefore means that your precious Blue-Eyes won't be able to defeat my Green Baboon. So how you intend to carry out that promise is beyond me."

"Then apparently you don't know me very well," snarled Kaiba. "End your turn. Now."

Angus shrugged his huge shoulders and set a card facedown before waving an arm to end his turn. Kaiba drew another card, then gave a worried glance at his Blue-Eyes, whose stats had indeed gone down to normal just as Angus had indicated. As had those of Joey's Monsters for that matter.

_This is bad, _he thought. _But I refuse to switch my Blue-Eyes White Dragon to Defence Mode! My dragons never cower from their foes, and neither do I! _He looked at Raquel's empty corner of the field. _So instead I'll take this opportunity to deal that girl so much damage, she and Angus will regret kidnapping my brother and challenging me to a duel!_

With his mind made up, he pointed a finger at the female Death Eater and gave his Blue-Eyes a command. "Go my great beast, attack that woman's Life Points directly with your White Lightning!"

The Blue-Eyes began to gather more energy in its maw to spit at Raquel. But the Death Eater in question calmly pointed to her remaining facedown card. "Sorry to disappoint, Rich Boy, but I have a Trap! Go, Draining Shield!"

Kaiba looked murderous as the Trap Card lifted up. The Blue-Eyes didn't take notice, however; it went ahead and blasted its destructive stream of obliteration at Raquel, but it was blocked by a coloured dome of energy that appeared a few split-seconds before the attack would have hit. Raquel gave a cocky laugh as her Life Points blasted way past their starting amount, until they stopped.

**(Raquel: 10,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 6,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 3,800 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 7,600 Life Points)**

"Kaiba, be careful out there!" Joey yelled at his enraged partner.

The CEO ignored him again and shifted his gaze back to his hand of three cards. He eventually chose one of them and played it. "I end my turn with one facedown card, you fools! But you can't dodge my Blue-Eyes forever!"

The dome of energy vanished from around Raquel, who kept her smirk as she drew her next card. "Oh, believe me, we won't need to now," she taunted. "Lest you forget, my partner's got something strong enough to handle your pathetic excuse for a dragon." She pointed at Angus's Monster for emphasis. "So please pardon me for not begging for mercy."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes in such a deadly way, it would likely have sent even his Ultimate Dragon flying off in fear. "Will you shut up and go already?!"

Raquel ignored his anger. "Now, since I'd rather not be defenceless, I'll set a Monster in Defence Mode," she said. "Then I'll set one more card facedown...and I do believe that will be all."

The two set cards appeared on her field, looming a little close to her Bad Reaction to Simochi. Joey nervously drew his next card while casting a spare glance at the Green Baboon every now and then. He did not want to be on the receiving end of a blow from that beast.

Fortunately for him, he was not about to, as he found out by looking at his drawn card. He beamed with confidence. "Yes!" he shouted. "Alright, here goes! I sacrifice my Axe Raider to summon Maximum Six!"

The barbarian let out one last battle cry before he vanished in a shower of sparks, and a new creature took his place. It was a muscular ogre with six arms sprouting out of his sides. His skin was purple, and his only article of clothing was a loincloth. (ATK: 1,900/ DEF: 1,600)

"Oh come on now, Wheeler," Angus rolled his eyes at the new arrival. "You call _that _a level six Monster? We've seen better."

Joey wagged a finger at him. "Now now, big guy, you might wanna slow down there a sec. My Maximum Six has a very neat effect, which activates only when he's Tribute Summoned!"

The Maximum Six held out his middle-right arm and unclenched his hand. A big white die appeared on his palm.

"Whenever he's Tribute Summoned, I gotta roll one die. Whatever result he gets is multiplied by two-hundred, and then added to his Attack Score as a permanent bonus! So if he gets a six, he'll be on par with your ugly furball there, Angus!"

Maximum Six threw the die above his head, and everybody's eyes, including the ones of the two captives watching the duel, followed its ascent. It soon started plummeting back to the wooden floor and began clattering around, until it dragged to a stop. Everybody saw that, just as Joey had hoped for, the top face contained six dots. Maximum Six gave a pleased grin and flexed his muscles. (ATK: 1,900/ DEF: 1,600) - (ATK: 3,100/ DEF: 1,600)

Angus merely looked bored. "You forgot one thing, Wheeler. If you attack my Green Baboon with that thing, all you'll get is a draw. Not to mention, I can just destroy another of my Beast Monsters in order to bring him back from my Graveyard. So why waste your time?"

_For once I agree, _Kaiba thought as he cast another irritated look towards the blonde duellist. _What the Hell is Wheeler thinking? Hasn't he messed us up enough as it is?_

"Well, this is where it kinda gets ironic," said Joey. "See, I noticed that a lot of the Monsters in my deck are of the Warrior-type, so I included a little card that was used by the very first Orichalcos user that my pals and I ran into when that freaky magic showed up! As they say about the past, it comes back to haunt you...but in some cases, that's a good thing! Watch this!"

The image of a Continuous Spell Card rose up from behind his Monsters and presented itself for everyone to see. The card bore the name 'The A. Forces,' one that had indeed been used by Gurimo in the past. Gearfried and Maximum Six gave the card pleased grins as their bodies became surrounded by vague light and their stats shot upwards. (ATK: 1,800/ DEF: 1,600) - (ATK: 2,200/ DEF: 1,600), (ATK: 3,100/ DEF: 1,600) - (ATK: 3,500/ DEF: 1,600)

Angus gave no reply to this. Raquel, however, chuckled to herself. _If Wheeler thinks that he's all that because he has a pair of powerful Monsters, he's more of a naive fool than I thought! _she laughed in her mind. _Anybody will tell you that Attack Points don't mean everything...as he and Kaiba are about to find out!_

"Okay, Maximum Six, attack that Green Baboon with Six-Armed Strike!" commanded Joey.

But just when Maximum Six clenched all his fists and rushed forward to do the job, Angus suddenly let out a loud shout of laughter. "Now _that _had to be the most reckless decision I've ever seen!" he laughed. "I activate my Trap Card, Sakuretsu Armor, to wipe out your Maximum Six!"

A spiked suit of grey armour appeared on the Green Baboon's body. Maximum Six ignored this and slammed one of his fists into the ape's armoured chest, only to be met with surprise as the armour exploded into a storm of spikes that peppered his body all over. The ogre staggered backwards, and Green Baboon seized its chance and slammed a fist into his chest, flooring him and sending him shattering into shards. Gearfried looked shocked at the death of his comrade, not even caring that his scores had gone down a little. (ATK: 2,200/ DEF: 1,600) - (ATK: 2,000/ DEF: 1,600)

"Figures," Kaiba growled. "Always rushing right into things...what an idiot."

"Oh, but don't think you're getting off the hook, Rich Boy!" Raquel addressed him. "Like my partner, I have a facedown card, and now I choose to activate it! Go, Gift Card!"

Her own facedown card lifted up to reveal a small white card with a gift ribbon wrapped around it.

"And what's that supposed to do?" sneered Kaiba.

"It's quite simple, actually," replied Raquel. "Normally it would grant my opponent three-thousand Life Points...but again as this is a tag duel, only one of you receives this effect! And let's not forget about my Bad Reaction to Simochi..." She trailed off, giving an evil grin.

Kaiba's eyes registered shock, and a little fear, for the first time since the duel began, and so did Joey's. Before anyone could give a comment, a huge explosion erupted all around the CEO and sent him falling to the floor. Blue-Eyes flew away from the explosion by pure instinct while letting out a roar to display her concern for her master, and Mokuba and Serenity screamed out in horror on his behalf.

**(Raquel: 10,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 6,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 3,800 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,600 Life Points)**

"Kaiba, are you all right?!" Joey yelled out over the noise of the explosion. "C'mon, say something!"

He almost kicked himself for asking that question. That move had caused just as much damage as a direct attack from the Blue-Eyes White Dragon would, so of course Kaiba was going to be in a weakened condition. Joey glared at Angus and Raquel, who were both laughing their heads off at Kaiba's misfortune. "You think that was funny, huh?!" he snarled.

"Depends on your definition of fun!" Raquel snorted through her laughter. "You should listen when people tell you to never look a gift horse in the mouth!"

"Big brother!" Mokuba screamed at where he thought his brother stood amidst the smoke of the explosion. "Please be all right!"

The smoke cleared away seconds after that shout to reveal Kaiba already standing back on his feet. But he was hunched over a little, and his breathing came out in small gasps. Nonetheless, he was forcing himself to keep the scowl on his face. Everyone found themselves wondering how he did that.

"I'm fine, Mokuba," Kaiba reassured his brother, his voice still level and cool. "It'll take more than a wimpy shot like that to keep me down."

Raquel looked incensed. "Wimpy, huh?" she challenged. "Well if you call _that _wimpy, I guess I'll have to step my game up a notch, now won't I? But until I get my chance, it's still Wheeler's turn!"

Joey snapped back to his senses and consulted the field again. It was only then when he looked at the field that he remembered his Maximum Six being destroyed by Angus's Sakuretsu Armor, and as much as he wanted dearly to make the Scotsman pay for that, he knew his Iron Knight was not strong enough to take on Green Baboon in a head-to-head battle. But there was another target that he could attack...although it would involve a risk.

"Gearfried, destroy Raquel's facedown Monster! Iron Shield Strike!"

Gearfried snapped out of his shock and gave an angry snarl. He charged forward and attempted to slam his shield into the facedown Monster, but suddenly a strange figure appeared in its place and dodged out of the path of his attack. It was a small creature shaped like a white gumdrop, with an upside-down smile on its tiny face, but the smile quickly turned into a glare of hatred as the Seal of Orichalcos spread its influence throughout the Monster's body and drew its symbol onto its lower half. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 500) - (ATK: 800/ DEF: 500)

"Now what was that supposed to be, an attack or a baby punch?" taunted Raquel. "That's my Marshmallon, and he cannot be destroyed in battle no matter how hard you hit him! And also, when he's attacked while facedown in Defence Mode, the opponent responsible for the attack loses a thousand Life Points! Didn't expect a dessert topping to be quite an annoyance, did you?"

**(Raquel: 10,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 5,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 3,800 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,600 Life Points)**

Joey felt very irritated that his attack had been foiled again. In fact he was fighting the urge to storm over there and slug one of the Death Eaters in the torso...but as soon as the thought entered his mind, he shook it back out. It was the Orichalcos influencing his thinking. He knew better than to give in to it.

"Whatever, then," he growled. "Your move, big guy."

Angus happily drew his card and slapped another one to his Duel-Disk. "All right, then, I'm going to summon another Monster in Attack Mode! Say hello to my namesake...the Great Angus!"

A huge boar with bulging muscles, pink skin, and a set of horns materialized beside the snarling Defender of the Forest, dressed only in a loincloth to cover itself. The Seal etched itself onto its forehead, and its features started to look even more fierce than normal. It released a feral growl aimed towards the unflinching Blue-Eyes. (ATK: 1,800/ DEF: 600) - (ATK: 2,300/ DEF: 600)

"Wow," Kaiba said sarcastically. "You named yourself after one of your own cards. Did your parents have limited imaginations, or did they just think you were ugly?" He let himself chuckle at his joke, and even Joey couldn't help but snort with amusement.

"Ha ha ha, Kaiba, you're so funny," Angus deadpanned. "But let's see you laugh when I wipe your precious Blue-Eyes White Dragon off the map with my Defender of the Forest! Green Baboon, smash up that pathetic dragon with your Primal Punch!"

The command wiped the smirk off Kaiba's face and he scowled viciously instead. "Calling my dragons pathetic, huh?" he growled, even as Green Baboon prepared itself to attack. "Well let's see you call _this _pathetic! I activate my facedown card, Shrink, to cut your oversized monkey's original Attack Points in half! And since half of twenty-six hundred is thirteen-hundred, that's how many points your beast loses!"

The Green Baboon suddenly keeled over and groaned in agony as a red aura flared around it, which showed that the effect of Kaiba's Shrink card was taking place. It tried to stand back up, but its legs would not obey its possessed mind. (ATK: 3,100/ DEF: 1,800) - (ATK and DEF: 1,800)

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon, counterattack with your White Lightning!" Kaiba barked.

Blue-Eyes White Dragon leered down at the weakened Green Baboon, as if it was unworthy to be in its presence. Then it spat out another burst of White Lightning, and the Green Baboon had no time to react before it was engulfed by the energy. A final howl could be heard from where it once stood before it vanished as the energy dissipated from the field.

**(Raquel: 10,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 5,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 2,600 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,600 Life Points)**

Kaiba chose this moment to give Joey a very smug leer. "And that, mutt, is how one exterminates a monkey," he bragged. "That method you tried was one a beginner would use."

"Lay off, Kaiba!" Joey threw at him. "So my method didn't work. I don't care! As long as we manage to win this, it doesn't matter who duelled better!"

Kaiba made to respond back, when Angus cleared his throat to interrupt their argument. He and Joey turned to look back at the Scotsman, and they both felt themselves frowning with curiosity, for Angus was still smirking rather than worrying for his Green Baboon's defeat.

"If you two are done, may I continue?" he asked. "And my Green Baboon will not be gone for as long as you're hoping for. I can assure you of that, Rich Boy."

Kaiba glared at the Great Angus, who announced its growing impatience by bellowing a loud roar. "I take it you're going to feed your mutated namesake to my Blue-Eyes just to bring that thing back? Fine, then go ahead and try."

"Actually, I've got a better idea," said Angus. "Watch and see for yourself." He fixed a predatory stare on Gearfried the Iron Knight. "I think he's had his share of the spotlight for long enough, so Great Angus, attack him with Ferocious Charge!"

Great Angus snorted through its nostrils and stampeded toward the terrified Iron Knight. Even as Gearfried raised up one of his arm-shields to attempt to hold off the attack, Great Angus's huge fist slammed right through it and belted him in the face, sending him flying backwards. He came close to crashing right into Joey, but exploded into pixels before that happened. The blonde duelist in question couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

**(Raquel: 10,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 5,200 Life Points)----(Angus: 2,600 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,600 Life Points)**

"Now that he's been taken of," Angus continued, "here's how I'm going to get my Green Baboon back!" He threw another card into his Disk. "As it is still my Battle Phase, I'm free to activate Quick-Play Spells from my hand for the duration of this phase. Thus, I can activate Offerings to the Doomed right away!"

Kaiba flinched and looked up at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "Argh..."

"Oh don't worry, Rich Boy," Angus told him. "I'm not targeting your Blue-Eyes with this. You see, the Monster I plan to destroy...is my Great Angus himself!"

Great Angus turned and looked towards its master in shock. Then it started to run away from the field, but a beam of light flew from Angus's Duel-Disk and caught it before it could take a second step. Within the space of a single second after the blow had struck, the Monster was blown into fragmented pixels, all of which vanished into nothingness.

"Now that he's gone, I can pay a thousand Life Points once more to call my Green Baboon back to the field!" laughed Angus. "I may have had to sacrifice my next Draw Phase due to my using Offerings to the Doomed, but hey, you have to make sacrifices to get somewhere, right? Now Green Baboon, come back to my side and wreak your revenge!"

His Life Points took another big drop, but Kaiba and Joey barely noticed this, as they were busy watching the resurrected Green Baboon fight its way out from under the floor again and take its place on the field. It beat its hairy chest and glared at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, clearly not happy for what it had done a bit ago. The Seal drew itself on its forehead again, but it barely did much to raise its temper any further. (ATK: 2,600/ DEF: 1,800) - (ATK: 3,100/ DEF: 1,800)

**(Raquel: 10,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 5,200 Life Points)----(Angus: 1,600 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,600 Life Points)**

"And you said that _my _way of destroying that thing sucked, Kaiba?" Joey gulped in fear. His ally had no smart-aleck response to make this time.

"Green Baboon, try again and attack the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Angus shouted. "Primal Punch!"

Mokuba shut his eyes tight and turned away. Before long, the sound of a loud, gut-wrenching crack, a pained roar, and an explosion bombarded his eardrums without mercy. When he opened his eyes and looked again, Kaiba's Blue-Eyes was gone, and the CEO's face was twisted with absolute rage.

**(Raquel: 10,700 Life Points)----(Joey: 5,200 Life Points)----(Angus: 1,600 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,500 Life Points)**

"How dare you disrespect my Blue-Eyes in such a manner!" Kaiba snarled. "That's yet another mistake you made today, Angus! For that, I am going to make sure you suffer the pain of a thousand deaths!"

"Big talk coming from someone who's got an empty field, a small hand of cards, and a partner with abysmal duelling skills," the Scotsman taunted. "Why don't you just make your move and spare yourself the trouble of making any more futile threats?"

"Who're you calling abysmal here?!" Joey roared, but no-one paid any heed to his outburst.

Kaiba's hands were shaking from his rage, so it took him a while to pull the top card on his deck free. After checking it, he slammed it into his Disk. "First, I'll play my own Pot of Greed!"

Again the blue-and-green jar with an evil smile that displayed rotting teeth appeared, but Kaiba didn't stop to look at it and made his next two draws. Even as the jar shattered into pieces, he picked out his next card and played it. "Next, I activate Fiend's Sanctuary, which allows me to summon a Metal Fiend Token to the field!"

A small white pentagram drew itself inside that of the Orichalcos. Then a small, lanky creature comprised of black beads that made up a faceless head, a torso, and a pair of arms arose from the smaller pentagram and gave the Death Eaters a blank stare. (ATK and DEF: 0)

_That's the same card he gave Yugi before the last match of the Battle City Finals! _Joey thought as he recognized the token. _But what's Kaiba gonna do with it?_

"The stats for this Token Monster are as follows, by the way," continued Kaiba. "It's Fiend-type, Dark-Attribute, and level one, plus it has nonexistent scores, as you can clearly see. Also, to keep it on the field, I need to sacrifice a thousand Life Points during my Standby Phase...but it won't be around for that long!"

"Yeah, because Green Baboon will smash it to bits on Angus's next turn," Raquel jabbed. "Not to mention that you'll be nearly out of Life Points."

"I'm afraid you're mistaken..." An evil smirk crept across Kaiba's face as he started to chuckle. "Because I'm sacrificing my Metal Fiend Token to summon something even better! My Luster Dragon #2!"

Both the white pentagram and the Metal Fiend Token disappeared from the field, to be replaced by a towering dragon with emerald growing around its legs. Its skin was also as green as an emerald, and it had a small goatee growing from its chin. (ATK: 2,400/ DEF: 1,400)

"Bah!" scoffed Angus. "That Monster isn't even as strong as your Blue-Eyes, Kaiba! Why bother summoning it?"

Kaiba scowled at Angus again and chose a third card from his hand to play. "Because," he replied, "in order to activate this next Spell Card, I needed a Dragon-type Monster on my field. And since Luster Dragon #2 obviously qualifies, the conditions for this card's activation are cleared! I play..." He threw the card into a slot. "...Dragon's Gunfire!"

The card's hologram - or rather image since the effects of a duel were made real by the Orichalcos - materialized behind his Luster Dragon #2. It displayed the picture of a dragon spitting out an orange ball of fire towards the foreground.

"This card has two effects, but I only get to use one of them," explained Kaiba. "The first effect allows me to inflict eight-hundred points of damage to the opponent...and the second effect allows me to destroy a Monster that has eight-hundred Defense Points or less!"

"Eight-hundred Defense Points or less..." Raquel's eyes widened in horror as she caught on and looked at her Marshmallon. "But he has only five-hundred!"

"And last I checked, Marshmallon may be immune to battle, but _not _to card effects!" Kaiba gloated with triumph. "Luster Dragon #2, use the power of Dragon's Gunfire and wipe that Marshmallon out!"

Luster Dragon #2 howled and breathed a stream of bright-green flames towards the Marshmallon, whose angry expression suddenly turned to one of fear as the attack approached. The flames washed over it before it had a chance to scream, and it was reduced into a pile of burning ashes. Raquel leapt backwards as the flames threatened to touch her too, but they vanished before they got to her.

"Yeek!" the female Death Eater shrieked at the top of her lungs. "Damn you, Seto Kaiba!"

"Now look who's defenseless," Kaiba chuckled smugly. "Oh wait, wouldn't that be _you, _Raquel? Since that is indeed the case, it wouldn't make sense not to attack you with my Luster Dragon #2, now would it?"

Before Raquel had the chance to respond, Luster Dragon #2 spat another blast of green flames right at her this time, setting her robes on fire and throwing her into a world of pain. As she got back up, she hissed and cast the CEO a look of pure rage, one that was amplified by the magic of the Orichalcos rushing through her.

**(Raquel: 8,300 Life Points)----(Joey: 5,200 Life Points)----(Angus: 1,600 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,500 Life Points)**

"You are going to regret that!" she raged. "Nobody knocks _me _down like that and gets away with it!"

"Not to worry, Raquel," Angus assured her. "We still have the upper hand. The only thing Kaiba managed to do was draw out his inevitable demise. His Luster Dragon #2 is still weaker than my Green Baboon."

_I hate to admit it, but he's right, _Joey fretted. _Kaiba's move was great, but what was the point? He should have tried setting up a defense instead!_

Kaiba only shrugged his shoulders. "Well, true, but it was either do that or let Raquel hide behind a wall for a longer period of time," he stated. "I have to end my turn now. But trust me, you two..." His calm mood changed back into one of such anger that it matched Raquel's fury, and his voice rose with each word that he spoke. "You will pay for kidnapping my brother and disgracing my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Raquel spat to the side and drew another card. "We'll just see about that, Rich Boy! I summon my Sangan in Attack Mode!"

The tiny three-eyed demon with green limbs erupted onto the field with a high-pitched shriek of rage. Then the Orichalcos symbol etched itself onto its forehead, turning the colour of its fur to a very unpleasant-looking brown hue and lengthening its fangs as its soul was tainted by the dark magic. (ATK: 1,000/ DEF: 600) - (ATK: 1,500/ DEF: 600)

"I may not be able to attack you directly since you still have a Monster, Kaiba," Raquel sighed, "so I guess I'll just take my frustration out on your partner! Sangan, attack Wheeler directly!"

Sangan leapt forward and buried its claws into Joey's chest, making him cringe and howl out in pain. He soon gathered himself and managed to wrestle the demon off of him before he fell to his knees and clutched where he was hit.

**(Raquel: 8,300 Life Points)----(Joey: 3,700 Life Points)----(Angus: 1,600 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,500 Life Points)**

"No..." Mokuba moaned, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. "They're losing..."

But Serenity shook her head fiercely. "No they're not, Mokuba! My brother _will _turn things around, and so can yours!"

"But even my brother's Blue-Eyes couldn't stand up to that Green Baboon!" Mokuba protested. "So what chance do they have?!"

"You've got to believe in both of them!" Serenity exclaimed. "I've seen my brother duel, and he's always been able to come back! Just like Kaiba can! If you don't think they'll succeed, they won't be at their best! You've just got to trust them!" She craned her head back towards the duel and called out to her brother as loud as she could. "Joey! Get up! You guys can still win this! I _know _you can!"

"Why don't you just put a cork in it, little girl, before I decide to have my Green Baboon rip your insides out?" Angus threatened her. "In case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of a duel here, and we could do so much better without your whining!"

At that point, a very unpleasant voice spoke up. _"Oy..."_

"Huh?" Angus and Raquel echoed at the same time as they turned to look at Joey, who was already back on his own two feet. But what caught their attention was the very vile glare that had somehow crept its way onto its face.

"Don't _ever _speak to my sister that way, Angus," the blonde growled. "If you wanna pick on a Wheeler...then try picking on me instead!"

The surprise slowly melted away from the Death Eaters' faces and they smirked. The threat seemingly had had no effect on them. "Well if that's really what you want, then we can abide by that with no problem," Angus shrugged. _"Then _I'll have my Green Baboon mutilate your dear sister for my amusement."

"It's only a matter of time anyway before the Orichalcos devours _all _your souls!" Raquel laughed. "Now, back to the duel! I place one card facedown and end my turn!"

A new facedown card appeared beside her Bad Reaction to Simochi Trap Card. Joey, who was still very angry with Angus for threatening his sister in such a terrible manner, ripped his next card free and looked over his hand, wanting to come up with a move as fast he could. Kaiba found himself marveling at how very provoked Joey could get whenever someone threatened Serenity...it was almost like how he was each time someone dared make a move against his little brother. But he shook the thought out of his head almost as quickly as it had come to him. There was no way he was going to sympathize with _Joey _of all people. The mere thought of that was almost too much for him to take.

"All right, here goes!" Joey shouted. "First, I'm activating my own Pot of Greed! Gotta say, though, it's getting kind of repetitive, but who cares?"

For the third time in a row, the jar of avarice popped up in front of Joey and let out a giggling noise. But Joey went along with what Kaiba did and ignored it while drawing his next two cards.

"All right!" he sounded very pleased from seeing his new cards. "Looks like I'm all set to take you jerks apart! And what better way to do it than with another new Spell Card I added to my deck recently? I play Ancient Rules!"

A tiny scroll of Middle Age-styled paper fluttered down from the sky, and as it landed on the wooden arena it unfurled to reveal the picture of a small Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Kaiba arched his eyebrows at the paper.

"A tiny piece of paper?" Raquel snorted with amusement.

"Just how is that going to help you, eh Wheeler?" asked Angus.

"Funny you should ask," Joey chuckled. "Ancient Rules allows me to Special Summon a Normal Monster from my hand, for as long as its level is five or higher! Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragons would qualify, but I don't have those guys in my deck. However...I _do _have my fave ol' buddy watching my back! Rise up, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

An inferno of reddish-black flames exploded all around his corner of the field. Then the flames cleared away to reveal the intimidating figure of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Its bloody-red eyes glinted when they caught sight of Green Baboon and Sangan, and the beast itself let out a howl of pure anger and spread its wings to keep itself airborne. (ATK: 2,400/ DEF: 2,000)

"That pathetic mockery of my Blue-Eyes?" Kaiba jabbed at Joey. "And just how is he supposed to help us out?"

Joey threw his unwilling partner another vicious scowl before looking back out at the field again. "This 'mockery of your Blue-Eyes' is gonna bail us out, that's how!" he declared. "But first, I think I'll give 'im something to help him out with that job!" He pulled another Spell Card from his hand and showed it to everyone. "It's called Lucky Iron Axe, and it gives my Red-Eyes a nice boost of five-hundred Attack Points!"

As the Red-Eyes Black Dragon could not carry an axe, no such weapon appeared in sight for it to grab. But it was surrounded by a small aura of energy that represented the effect of Joey's Equip Spell. (ATK: 2,400/ DEF: 2,000) - (ATK: 2,900/ DEF: 2,000)

"That still isn't strong enough to wipe out my Green Baboon, Wheeler!" snapped Angus.

Joey shook his head and pointed a finger at Raquel's mutated Sangan. "That oversized ape ain't my target, but that little guy sure is! Red-Eyes, attack Raquel's Sangan with your Inferno Fire Blast!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon snarled with a burst of anger and let out a volley of molten fireballs upon the Sangan, frying it into ashes just like the Marshmallon. But yet again Raquel gave a smirk, which caused Joey to frown.

**(Raquel: 6,900 Life Points)----(Joey: 3,700 Life Points)----(Angus: 1,600 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,500 Life Points)**

"Why thank you, Wheeler," she said. "Destroying my Sangan allows me to add another Monster to my hand...as long as it has fifteen-hundred or fewer Attack Points, of course. And I think I'll choose my Spirit Reaper!"

_Damn it! _Joey cursed in his mind. _Another Monster that can't be destroyed in battle?! That's the last thing I need right now!_

Raquel chuckled at the look on his face and pulled her desired card out of her deck. "Well that's what you get for not looking at how the strategies of your opponents work, Wheeler. Haven't you realized by now how Angus and I function? He's practically the perfect sword, whereas I am the shield. An unbeatable combination, if I do say so myself!"

"There's nothing unbeatable in the game of Duel Monsters," Joey snapped. "Even the Egyptian God Cards are no exception."

"Bah!" Raquel waved away Joey's words like they were an annoying cloud of gnats. "Even those so-called gods couldn't handle the magic of the Orichalcos if they tried! What you're facing is far stronger than they could ever be!"

"You're mistaken if you really believe that," growled Joey.

"Oh?" Raquel's eyebrows lifted up into her hairline. "Well then, if one of you has one in your deck, why don't you summon it and prove me wrong?" Then she clapped a hand to her mouth with mock surprise. "Oh yes, I forgot! Your friend Rich Boy lost his Egyptian God Card to a nobody like Yugi Muto, and you've never used one, Wheeler!" She stared at the CEO with a very evil smile. "If you could lose to someone while holding a so-called unbeatable power in your hands, I guess the Egyptian God Cards aren't as big as the world claims them to be, just like _you, _Kaiba! Against the magic we wield, you're nothing but a common duelist who hides behind an ego to shield himself from the truth!"

That did it. Kaiba's rage had reached a boiling point by the time Raquel had finished speaking. "How dare you?! Don't you even think about speaking of how I lost to Yugi Muto, especially when you two could not even win the British Regionals!" he snarled at the top of his lungs, before giving Joey another glare. "Now why don't you two stop talking and just end your turn already?! In case it escaped your notice, my brother could use some rescuing!"

"I'm getting there, Kaiba," Joey snapped. He placed the last two cards in his hand into separate Spell/Trap Card slots before waving to Angus, who started to draw a card from his deck. But then he stopped as he remembered something.

"Oh, right," he said. "Since I used Offerings to the Doomed last turn, I can't take my Draw Phase this turn. Oh, well." He shrugged and checked the single card he held, then looked up at his prized Monster again. "May as well get down to the best part! The only question is, who should I attack...?"

_Maybe I could attack Kaiba's Luster Dragon #2 and bring him closer to defeat, _the Death Eater reasoned with himself. _But then... _His gaze traveled over to the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. _Wheeler might draw another card to power up his own dragon, and if he does, my Green Baboon will be wiped out again. Plus, should my Life Points fall below a thousand, I won't be able to use its resurrection effect. So...the choice is clear!_

"Go, Green Baboon! Hand that Red-Eyes the same fate that you handed Kaiba's precious Blue-Eyes!"

Kaiba gave his partner a quick look and spotted a tiny smirk on his lips. _Was he prepared for that...?_

It sure seemed that way. For when Green Baboon pounced over to slam its fist into the neck of Joey's prized Monster, the blonde duelist himself struck a button on his Disk, causing one of his facedown cards to lift up. At once another imp - only this time it was the black one with bat-like wings growing from its shoulders - materialized above the Trap Card, carrying its huge red die in its hands.

"Thanks, you just activated my Skull Dice Trap Card!" Joey gloated.

Angus winced. "Agh, damn it!" he cursed. "If that thing manages to roll...at least a two, my Monster is doomed!"

"You've got that right!" Joey laughed. "Go, Skull Dice, do your thing!"

The black imp threw its hand upwards and released the red die from its grip. It struck the Green Baboon's forehead, causing it to flinch and take a few steps backwards, before the die clattered to the ground and began bouncing around like the Graceful Dice before it had done. It soon dragged to a halt...and Kaiba had to restrain a sigh of relief when he saw a four on the top face.

"Boo-yeah!" Joey pumped a fist in the air with triumph. "That means that your oversized ape loses four-hundred Attack and Defense Points, making it weaker than my Red-Eyes!"

Much to the chagrin of the Death Eaters, Green Baboon screeched in agony and clutched its stomach, but it was unable to stop its scores from plummeting due to the effect of Skull Dice. (ATK: 3,100/ DEF: 1,800) - (ATK: 2,700/ DEF: 1,400)

_Yes! _Serenity's mind screamed in relief as a huge smile lit up her gentle face. _I knew my brother would turn this all around! You rock, Joey!_

"Red-Eyes, counterattack that Green Baboon and send it running back to the Graveyard!" Joey commanded. "Inferno Fire Blast!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon obediently released another barrage of fireballs, all of which struck the huge hairy ape on various spots on its body. Green Baboon's fur started to catch fire as it howled in pain and misery, and as soon as the last fireball struck it in the chest, it was blown into shards once again. Angus started to get a little frustrated now.

**(Raquel: 6,900 Life Points)----(Joey: 3,700 Life Points)----(Angus: 1,400 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,500 Life Points)**

"You're only prolonging your inevitable demise, Wheeler!" he raged. "As long as I have Beast Monsters and enough Life Points to give up, my Green Baboon will never truly be gone!"

"Well, as you don't have very many Life Points left, Angus, it looks like your big monkey will only get to come back once," Kaiba chuckled. "You know, you really should have attacked my Luster Dragon #2. What kind of idiot attacks somebody when they've got some facedown cards out?"

"Shut your trap, Kaiba!" Angus flung at him before he addressed Joey again. "You know, I was going to consider letting up on attacking you after I rid us of your pesky Red-Eyes so that I can focus on Rich Boy. But since you pulled that stunt, I've got a score to settle with you!"

"As I do with you, big guy," scowled Joey. "You kidnapped my sister and I kicked your best Monster's ass for the second time in a row, and as soon as Kaiba and I win this duel, we'll be even."

Angus snarled again and slammed his last remaining card onto his Disk. "I'll set a Monster facedown in Defense Mode and end my turn!"

Kaiba eyed Angus's newly-set facedown Monster with suspicion as he drew his next card. _If that card he set is another Beast-type Monster - and knowing Angus's strategy so far, it must be - then if I attack it, he'll just bring his Green Baboon back. Of course, as I pointed out, he only has enough Life Points to do that one last time, so after I destroy Green Baboon again, it'll stay in the Graveyard. _He took a moment to scowl at the side of Joey's head before returning his attention to his hand of two cards. _And Wheeler had better not get in my way again. I don't need the help of some amateur who relies only on luck! In the end, it'll be MY skills and mine alone that'll bring about the end of these two fools!_

"Well, Kaiba?" Raquel asked impatiently. "Are you going to attack or not?"

The cold CEO gave her a slight smirk. "Eager to lose to me, eh? Well in that case, let's get to work on that, shall we? Luster Dragon #2, attack her directly again with your Emerald Flash Flare!"

Raquel flinched and held up her arms instinctively, but the action didn't buffer any of the pain that rocked her systems as another storm of emerald flames slammed into her. She stumbled backwards and came close to hitting the floor again, but she succeeded in keeping her balance this time.

**(Raquel: 4,500 Life Points)----(Joey: 3,700 Life Points)----(Angus: 1,400 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 4,500 Life Points)**

"And _that, _Raquel..." Kaiba growled, his smirk turning back into a glare, "...is for everything you said to me just a bit ago! You think I'm just some common duelist? Then why is it that you both are on the losing end of this rather than myself? And if you had gotten to face an Egyptian God Card yourself, you wouldn't be spouting off such reckless taunts! They'd leave you a quivering wreck by the end of the day...as would I! Compared to them, your little broken card is _nothing!"_ He spat out the last word with such contempt, one would think he was preparing to murder somebody.

An annoyed Joey merely rolled his eyes. _Great, there he goes, getting all egotistical again...even though he DOES have a few points. _He winced again. _Man, I hate agreeing with Rich Boy! I seriously need to stop doing that!_

Raquel took a moment to dust off the smoke and bits of ash from her robes. Then she glared back at Kaiba. "Then I guess I need to shove all of your words back down your throat, Rich Boy! I activate my next Trap Card, The Paths of Destiny!"

As her facedown card turned over, four huge coins materialized in front of each of the duelists.

"RAQUEL!" Angus suddenly screamed in fear, his face going pale as a ghost's. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Raquel ignored his shouts. "Now, listen up, all of you!" she barked. "When I activate this Trap Card, we each must flip a coin! Should you get heads as a result, your Life Points are increased by two-thousand! However, should you receive tails as a result, you _lose _that many points!"

If it was even possible, Kaiba would have looked much more incensed at this as he glared at her still-active Bad Reaction to Simochi card. "You little...!" he snarled. "Thanks to that stupid Trap Card of yours, it doesn't matter what I get, because I'll still lose the points!"

"That's playing cheap, Raquel!" Joey shouted, forgetting to chastise himself for agreeing with Kaiba yet again.

"As if I ever intended to play fair in the first place?" Raquel mocked. "Life's always going to be unfair, you two. So if you expect to survive, you have to play just as dirty."

"Raquel, you idiot!" Angus raged at her. "You realize that if I fail this toss, I'll lose both the duel _and _my soul?! You could have tried using that when I had more than two-thousand points so it wouldn't be as risky!"

"Oh, calm down, Angus," shrugged Raquel. "Even if you lose this, I can handle those two just fine on my own. I have plenty of tricks left to use on them. But if it makes you feel any better, I'll be sure to tell the master how helpful you've been. However, I'm sure you'll be just fine. I've hardly ever lost a bet with The Paths of Destiny, so I doubt you will."

Angus's face scrunched up from his increasing rage and panic. "Raquel..." he growled. "If I lose this duel because of you, I will never speak to you again..." His voice turned very poisonous. _"But when I first see you again, I'll subject you to such torture, you won't be able to even THINK when I'm done with you! You hear me?!"_

The threat was lost on the female Death Eater. "If you are quite done, Angus. Coins...flip!"

At her command, all four of the coloured coins flipped themselves into the air. Sweat ran down Angus's face like waterfalls, whereas Raquel, Kaiba, and Joey were all simply glaring at their respective coins.

_I hope it won't change anything, _Mokuba panicked. _After all, Seto and Joey each still have some powerful Monsters. And if Angus loses this toss, they'll have one less enemy to deal with. But what if it turns out differently?_

_Hang in there, big brother! _Serenity coached with her thoughts. _Be strong!_

After almost an unusually long ten seconds had passed, the coins finally came crashing back down on the ground and starting spinning around like tornadoes until they came to a stop. Much to everyone's surprise, and just as Mokuba had feared, all four of them had come up as heads. Angus just about collapsed from relief, while Joey and Kaiba grunted in pain as they felt their Life Points drop like a stone.

**(Raquel: 6,500 Life Points)----(Joey: 1,700 Life Points)----(Angus: 3,400 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 2,500 Life Points)**

"See, Angus?" asked Raquel. "I told you that you would be fine, didn't I? Now look! They're closer to losing their souls, and we've come out stronger than ever now!"

"Fine, you dodged a bullet there," Angus admitted, but he still looked angry with his comrade. "So I'll let you off for this. But if you make another crazy bet like this and I wind up losing it, I will still make good on my threat!"

"If you two are done with your lover's quarrel," Kaiba's scornful voice reached them, "I have to end my turn."

"Excellent." Raquel made another draw and smirked at her new card. "Well, Wheeler, looks like your Lucky Iron Axe won't be so lucky after all! I activate my Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy it!"

A whirlwind surrounded the disturbed Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and the aura around it faded away. As the whirlwind vanished too, the dragon glared at Raquel in hate, desiring nothing more than to incinerate her with its molten fireballs. (ATK: 2,900/ DEF: 2,000) - (ATK: 2,400/ DEF: 2,000)

"Ha!" Joey laughed loudly. "Actually, Raquel, I should thank you! When Lucky Iron Axe is destroyed by my opponent's card effect, I get to draw a new card from my deck! So I guess I got the last laugh after all!" And he picked up another card from his deck to replenish his empty hand.

"Please!" Raquel scoffed. "A measly card is nothing compared to what I've got in store for you and Rich Boy! Although, for now I can only set a Monster in Defense Mode for this turn and pass the rest of it off...but I'd be more careful if I were either of you two!"

"We all know what that facedown Monster is, Raquel," Kaiba muttered even as his partner drew yet again to start his own turn. "Your pesky Spirit Reaper."

"Well duh, Kaiba, whatever made it so obvious?" Raquel asked sarcastically. "I'm not in the mood to take another hit from any of your puny dragons, after all."

"Fine, then I guess I'll just take a piece of Angus for myself!" Joey declared. "After how he insulted my little sis, I ain't about to let him off! So first, I'm gonna play a Spell Card - Inferno Fire Blast!"

Angus was about to mistake this declaration as an attack on his facedown Monster until he noticed the Spell Card's hologram appearing on Joey's side of the field. His angry expression transformed into confusion immediately. "What? There's a Spell Card named after a Monster's attack? But what does that do?"

"Glad you asked, Angus," Joey said, grinning like a devil. "Red-Eyes, why don't you go over there and answer his question?"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon gave a low growl that suggested disappointment. Clearly it was hoping to get to attack Raquel again, but it was never one to disobey a command from Joey. So it craned its neck towards Angus instead and spat out a gust of searing hot flames at him, scorching him considerably. Angus bit back his scream of agony and kept himself braced for until the attack faded, leaving him gasping for breath.

**(Raquel: 6,500 Life Points)----(Joey: 1,700 Life Points)----(Angus: 1,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 2,500 Life Points)**

"W-what..." he moaned, but his surprise was very evident, as was Raquel's.

"It's kinda like attacking you directly, I know, but lemme explain," chuckled Joey. "I can only play Inferno Fire Blast when I've got my Red-Eyes on the field. When I do, I can give up his normal attack for the turn in order to inflict damage to you equal to the original Attack Score of my dragon! And since you've got only a thousand Life Points left now, Angus, if you try to bring back your Green Baboon, you'll be committing duelist suicide!"

_No! _Angus thought in terror. _He disarmed me of my most valuable weapon!_

But Raquel had different opinions. "So what?!" she spat. "We've still got some Monsters to protect ourselves, and plus there's other ways to raise Monsters from the Graveyard, in case you didn't know!"

"Well yeah, but I'm just going to take my chances with that," Joey shrugged. "And anyway, I ain't done! I've got a new Monster I'm gonna summon right off the bat this turn, but to do that I have to sacrifice my Red-Eyes. So later, pal!"

The Red-Eyes exploded into an inferno of black flames, but the fire didn't seem to disintegrate its body at all. In fact, it started to mutate a little.

"Come on out, Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!" ordered Joey. "Let's show these jerks your best!"

The flames on the dragon's body weakened to a mere aura, and everyone could see that the Red-Eyes had transformed into the creature it had become during the Japanese Regionals at the beginning of the year - its black hide had hardened considerably and dark-red lines of lava ran all over its body. It bellowed an even louder roar than usual. (ATK: 2,400/ DEF: 2,000) - (ATK: 2,700/ DEF: 2,000)

"What the?" Angus blinked at the new arrival's increase in Attack Points. "It got stronger? But how?"

"This fella gets three-hundred Attack Points for every Dragon-type Monster in my Graveyard, that's how!" Joey crowed. "I've only got one in there, namely the Red-Eyes I just gave up to summon the Darkness Dragon, but it's no big deal! Because now I've got a Monster that can attack on this turn!"

_Like that cheap imitation of my Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon is gonna make a difference, _Kaiba thought while rolling his eyes. _It still can't get past Raquel's Spirit Reaper._

"Now, Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, attack Angus's facedown Monster!" ordered Joey. "Inferno Dark Fire!"

The Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon sent out a blast of reddish-orange flames at Angus's Monster, and as the card disintegrated into nothingness the silhouette of a small hyena with grayish-black fur appeared, writhing in agony. Then it vanished as well.

"That was my Hyena," Angus muttered. "And when it's crushed in battle, it's replaced by the other two clones of itself from my deck."

Two more Hyenas materialized in place of the first one and crouched down in Defense Mode. The Orichalcos symbol lit up their foreheads, and they started shrieking with hatred and anger as the darkness of the cursed Field Spell took hold of their souls. (ATK: 1,000/ DEF: 300) x 2 - (ATK: 1,500/ DEF: 300) x 2

"Fine, Kaiba and I'll just take out the rest of 'em when it's our turns," Joey shrugged again. "Since I've got no more cards in my hand to play, it's your turn, big guy. Let's see what else you've got."

Angus sneered at him and drew his card. "Oh, I've got plenty," he promised, then looked at his new card. With a chuckle, he played it. "Well, looks like I've got my own Pot of Greed, and about time too. That's two new cards for me!"

For what promised to be the final time in this duel, the Pot of Greed's representing image materialized on the field and spun around like crazy, but once again its act was ignored as Angus snapped off two more cards from his deck. When he glimpsed what he drew, he burst out laughing like a maniac.

"Okay, is it just me, or is this guy finally going off the deep end...?" Joey muttered to himself.

Angus soon stopped laughing long enough to take one of his two cards. "Oh, Rich Boy!" he taunted with a singsong voice. "Looks like you're going to meet your end on this turn! By the time I'm done, you'll never get to see your little brother again!"

Those words made Mokuba's insides clench with fear, but he managed to ignore it. _Come on, Seto, pull through! You can do this!_

Kaiba merely gave Angus a look that echoed disbelief. "Yeah, right. You and what army?" he snorted.

"Glad you asked, Rich Boy," chuckled Angus, echoing Joey's words from earlier. "If you thought Green Baboon was the only strong Monster I've got, wait'll you see what I'm about to pull out from under my sleeve! And thanks to the Orichalcos, even your pitiful Blue-Eyes can't stop this beast! But first, in order to summon him, I need to sacrifice my two Hyenas!"

The Hyenas let out yelps of shock at this as they vanished into grains of light. An alarm went off in Joey's head. _A double sacrifice! _he thought in fear. _Okay, I think this guy's getting serious...well, more serious than he's been so far..._

"Come forth!" Angus bellowed at the top of his voice - and for a moment the triumph on his face made him look inhuman. "Big Koala!"

A towering koala the size of an elephant appeared in front of the Scottish Death Eater, chewing on a few eucalyptus leaves. Its fur had a turquoise tinge to it, and its eyes and claws were a deep black, but they lit up with a bloody-red tint, compliments of the green pentagram drawing itself onto its forehead. The tainted koala let out a horrible growl and glared at Joey and Kaiba, its friendly side long gone. (ATK: 2,700/ DEF: 2,000) - (ATK: 3,200/ DEF: 2,000)

Kaiba and Joey started to get a little unnerved again. Staring down a Monster stronger than one of their headliners was never an easy thing for them.

"Big Koala may be powerful now..." Angus bragged. "But he's only going to get stronger, thanks to the other card I just drew! I empower my Big Koala with the Spell Card, Wild Nature's Release! This strengthens his Attack Points even further, by an amount equal to his Defense Points!"

The Big Koala's muscles started to make themselves visible from under its fur, and its expression turned even more rabid, until it was so horrible that it was hard to look at it without flinching. (ATK: 3,200/ DEF: 2,000) - (ATK: 5,200/ DEF: 2,000)

"Oh no!" a terrified Mokuba screamed out. "My brother's only got twenty-five hundred points left! If Angus attacks him, he loses!"

"Don't worry, Mokuba, I'm sure my brother has a plan!" Serenity assured him. She jerked her head towards the facedown card behind Joey's Monster. "He's still got a facedown card left! Maybe it can block an attack!"

Joey slowly looked towards his sister. There was a strange look in his eyes...it seemed like a mixture of determination and hopelessness...

"Well, it'd better, because if not then Rich Boy's got a payment to make!" Angus cackled. "But don't worry, Wheeler..." he added as he looked towards Joey, who had gone very silent. "I do still have a score to settle with you, but we all know that Rich Boy is the bigger threat here. So once I take care of him, you're going down next, so don't you worry. You'll have your turn to suffer before long."

"Indeed!" Raquel laughed gleefully. "But for now, Angus, you know what to do! Let us make one of our finest deliveries to the Dark Lord, shall we?"

"Yes, we shall!" Angus agreed, and he pointed a bulky finger at Kaiba's only Monster. "Big Koala, strike down his Luster Dragon #2 and feed his soul to the Orichalcos!" Then he snapped an evil smile towards one of the terrified captives. "Oh, Mokuba? I hope you're watching this!"

Indeed Mokuba was. The horrified young man had eyes only for his big brother. "SETO!" he screamed in anguish. "NOOOOO!"

Kaiba flinched from the shout, and he closed his eyes as the Big Koala started to advance on his Luster Dragon #2. _This is it, _he thought sadly. _Forgive me, Mokuba...I'm sorry..._

Everyone seemed to fall deathly silent, so that the only noise in the air was the sound of Big Koala rushing towards the emerald dragon...but then another voice cut in, and the Big Koala stopped in its assault as Joey's facedown card lifted up...

"Not so fast!" Joey yelled with defiance. "I activate my other Trap Card, Shift! Now your Big Koala's attack is redirected towards my Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!"

"WHAT?!" Angus shrieked, astonished at Joey's daring interception. "Are you crazy, Wheeler?! You don't have enough Life Points to survive this attack either!"

"Joey, please don't!" Serenity yelled at her brother, tears filling up her eyes. "You'll lose your soul! Please don't do it!"

Joey just turned around and flashed her a thumbs-up. "Don't worry about me, sis," he said. "I'll be fine...you guys can count on Kaiba. He can take these of these idiots."

Kaiba felt himself gaping at Joey. He could not believe what he was hearing, let alone seeing. _He can't be doing what I think he is! _he thought. _He must have lost his mind!_

Raquel, on the other hand, was snickering more than ever. "Fine by us, Wheeler!" she shouted. "If that's really what you want, then I'm certain we can oblige!"

Angus snapped out of his shock and regarded his empowered Monster again. "Big Koala!" he barked. "It's obvious that Wheeler wants a death wish, so we may as well give it to him! Destroy his pathetic Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon and deliver his soul to the Dark Lord once and for all!"

Big Koala lumbered away from the Luster Dragon #2 and slashed the Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon across the chest without mercy. The wounded dragon let out a final howl of pain, shame, and humiliation, and then combusted into a storm of flames and flying fragments of black stone. Joey Wheeler was thrown up against the Seal's invisible barrier by the overwhelming force of the destructive death his dragon had suffered. He couldn't scream; he was much too winded from being thrown up against the Seal. He could barely make out his sister's screams through his damaged hearing...

**(Raquel: 6,500 Life Points)----(Joey: 0 Life Points)----(Angus: 1,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 2,500 Life Points)**

Joey collapsed to the floor, but managed to keep himself on his knees so that he wouldn't fall face-first just yet. It was difficult for him to breathe. His breaths kept coming out as gasps for air, and his vision was going hazy. Kaiba could only gawk at him.

And frankly, so could Angus and Raquel. Despite the surges of triumph they felt, they were also caught unawares by what Joey had done. They had believed that he and Kaiba hated each other so much, that one of them wouldn't dare sacrifice himself for the other...and now they were proven wrong.

"Kaiba..." Joey could barely talk through his labored breathing, but he willed his throat to work with all his strength. "Kaiba...I'm...counting on you...save my...sister..."

Kaiba felt very unused to the tone Joey was addressing him with. He didn't even feel himself nod his head. Joey felt satisfied with this response, but he was not done talking yet.

"One more thing..." he wheezed. "Get the...the Claw of...of Hermos...to Yugi...believe me, he's...gonna...need it..." As he craned his neck to look at his sobbing sister, he almost passed out from the agony wracking his body, but he did not give in just yet. "And, Serenity...I'm sorry...but I promise...you'll see me again...Yugi'll get me...out of there..."

Serenity shook her head in frantic denial. "Joey, please don't leave me!" she sobbed. "I love you too much to lose you again! Please don't go!"

Those words stabbed at Joey's heart like knives, but he could only bow his head in shame. "I did...my best..." he moaned. "But I had...to do this...so that...so that Kaiba could rescue you guys..." He managed to smirk at the stunned CEO. "He might be...a jerk at times...but I...I trust him...and that's...good enough for me..."

Kaiba's arms fell limp to his sides. He felt so stunned by what Joey had done, he couldn't bring himself to deny a fact that had just presented itself to him. Had Joey not made the move he did, he would have lost the duel...and as much as he would deny it, he would have also lost his soul. And to think it was _Joey _of all people who saved him...let alone trusted him...it was like his world was spiralling out of control and he could not bring it back into focus...

Then the Seal of Orichalcos gave a malevolent flare of energy. A smaller pentagram of itself shrunk in on Joey and surrounded him. The blonde duelist could feel the wicked magic pulling at his soul, but he lost the last of his contained consciousness before it captured him. For a moment, green light was all that flashed before his eyes...and then all went black.

The smaller Seal vanished from around him, and his soulless shell finally collapsed to the floor. Serenity couldn't take this sight anymore. Her sobs of grief pierced the air as she turned away, not willing to believe that, right before her eyes, her brother had been taken from her.

Mokuba felt like crying too. He could definitely sympathize with Serenity's situation, having once lost his own brother in the exact same manner.

Then there came scornful laughs from the pair of Death Eaters.

"How touching," Raquel chuckled, her voice thick with sarcasm. "How very dramatic. But it was his own fault. He could have just let Kaiba take the fall, and instead he goes and throws his soul away. What kind of idiot does that?"

"I'll tell you what kind," snickered Angus. "The stupid and hopeless type. He just made our job all the easier. Now all we have to do is eliminate Rich Boy's Life Points, and our master will reward us greatly. You can't defeat a pair of duelists all by yourself, Kaiba, so why not just surrender?"

Kaiba raised his head up and scowled at the Death Eaters so much, they flinched a little. "You two are so deluded," he growled with a _very _low voice. "I never surrender to anyone. Wheeler did something right for once. He bought me the time I needed in order to take you two down, and I'm not about to let that chance go to waste."

"Save your bold declarations, Rich Boy," scoffed Raquel. "You're outnumbered two to one. There's no way you can pull yourself out of this. You've been backed into a corner you won't be getting out of!"

"Oh, really?" Kaiba chuckled as he arched his eyebrows and stared right at Angus. "I think someone's forgotten about the side-effect of his Wild Nature Release card. At the End Phase, the Monster affected by that card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard. And since you have no other Monsters, Angus, I believe that means you'll be defenseless."

Angus jerked to his senses and came to a realization right there. He had been so caught up in coming close to wiping out Kaiba, he failed to notice that his hand was empty again, and that once his Big Koala was destroyed his field would be completely empty...and with only a thousand Life Points left...

"No!" he gasped.

Kaiba let out a small laugh. "Didn't count on that, did you?" he mocked. "Well, as you've no other cards to play, it looks like you have to end your turn. So say good-bye to your Big Koala!"

The Big Koala suddenly let out an agonized howl and clutched its head tightly. It keeled over and landed on the wooden floor with a crash, exploding into pixels upon contact. Angus started quivering with fear.

"My move!" Kaiba pulled out a card from his deck. "And just to make it more interesting, I'll summon the card I just drew! Say hello to my Vorse Raider!"

The vicious, muscular ogre dressed in a black vest and carrying a double-bladed axe materialized nearby the Luster Dragon #2 and bore his long fangs at his prey, namely Angus. (ATK: 1,900/ DEF: 1,200)

"Luster Dragon #2, attack Angus directly and wipe him out!" ordered Kaiba. "Emerald Flash Flare!"

Luster Dragon #2 let out another stream of bright emerald-green flames, and the Scotsman released what would be his final scream of anguish as they scorched through his robes and singed his skin in a few places. He was knocked backwards and thrown up against the Seal's wall. Then he slowly slid downwards until he was a smoking heap on the wooden floor.

**(Raquel: 6,500 Life Points)----(Angus: 0 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 2,500 Life Points)**

"Ha! Take that, you freak!" Mokuba gloated, looking very happy despite the tears in his eyes. "That one's for Joey!" He looked back at the still-sobbing Serenity. "See? Seto's gonna win!"

But Serenity didn't seem to hear Mokuba's words, as she was still immersed in too much grief to even try to speak.

"R-Raquel!" Angus gasped as he lifted his head up and cast his partner a frightened look. "Please, do something! Hurry! I can't afford to lose my soul, not when we've come this far! Please!"

Raquel stared at the second mini-sized Orichalcos pentagram that had formed and started contracting around Angus. She sighed and shook her head. "Sorry, Angus, but I'm afraid I lack the power to stop the Seal. Even I can't prevent the loser from paying up with his soul." She took a few steps away from him. "But I'll be sure to tell the Dark Lord how much help you've been after I take care of Rich Boy."

"NO!" Angus screamed in despair, before he was cut as a pillar of light shot up around him. Kaiba and Raquel looked on with dispassion as the Seal claimed the soul of the hulking Death Eater, leaving his body to fall to the floor as the light vanished. The field slot on Angus's Disk fell open, and his copy of the Seal of Orichalcos slid right out, except that the picture on the card had changed. Now it resembled Angus trapped behind a cage of bars.

Then what happened next came as a bit of a surprise to Kaiba. The Seal vanished from the wooden floor, and its symbol also left Raquel's forehead, thus erasing the bloody tint in her eyes. She groaned and clutched her head, as if she was getting a headache.

"The Seal! It's gone!" Mokuba sounded both surprised and relieved. "But how?!"

_I think it's because since Angus was the one who played that card, it left the field when he lost the duel, _Kaiba theorized to himself. _Well, that's one less thing to worry about. Now, all that's left to do is deal with Raquel so that I can get my brother back!_

"Well, what now?" he addressed the surviving Death Eater. "You're all alone just like me, your broken advantage is gone, and you've only got one Monster to protect you. So why don't you throw in the towel and hand over my brother? I might consider letting you off if you do...even though I'm not in a particularly forgiving mood." He emphasized this statement with an angry growl.

"Like Hell!" Raquel spat at him. "In case you've forgot, I have four-thousand more Life Points than you do, and as you know my facedown Spirit Reaper can't be destroyed by attacks! I still have a chance to crush you and deliver your soul to the Dark Lord, and this duel isn't going to stop until your shell's laying dead at my feet!"

"Oh, quit going on about all that soul-stealing crap and whatnot," snapped Kaiba. "And if that's really how you want this all to end, that's fine by me. I'll crush you so hard, it'll send a message to this Dark Lord of yours to never mess with my family again!"

"Bring it on, Rich Boy!" dared Raquel. "With barely any Life Points left, I'd just like to see you try to turn this around!"

"Well then..." Kaiba cracked his knuckles for a bit and then pointed at the facedown Monster still sitting on Raquel's half of the field. "Why don't I get started right now? First things first, time to bring your Spirit Reaper into the spotlight! Vorse Raider, attack her Monster with Bloodlust Slash!"

Raquel's irritated expression became replaced by a confused one. "Huh?"

But the Vorse Raider had already let out a deep growl and charged forward with its axe. As it swung downwards with it, the specter with a purple cloak appeared on the card and parried the weapon with its scythe. For a moment the two Monsters tangled with one another, until Vorse Raider gave up and backed away, but not without spitting at the Spirit Reaper with contempt. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 200)

"Now why did you do that, Rich Boy?" asked Raquel. "Didn't I just tell you that Spirit Reaper can't be destroyed in battle?"

Kaiba chuckled. "Well, apparently you're overlooking your own Monster's weakness," he explained. "True, it's invincible in battle, but if either duelist does so much as target it with _any _card effect, even a beneficiary one, it's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard. So now that it's face-up, all I have to do is target it to destroy it, and then I'll have my Monsters crush the rest of your Life Points!"

Raquel realized Kaiba's point right there, but it didn't stop her from looking all smug. "Like that's gonna help. All you've done is waste your time. I doubt you have very many cards in your deck that can target, and you've already used your Shrink, so I'd say your options are limited."

Kaiba just scowled at her and examined the two cards left in his hand. _I hate to admit it, but she has a point, _he thought. _My deck's mainly focused on beatdown, not card effects. And the only two cards I have here are Card of Demise and Trade-In. The latter only works if I have a level eight Monster to discard, and I don't have one. As for the Card of Demise, I COULD use it right now, but Raquel's best trick has yet to come out, so maybe I should save it for until then. However, if turns keep passing and I still haven't got past her Spirit Reaper, then I'll think about using it. For now, I'd better just wait it out and see what else happens._

"I end my turn," he said. "Good thing it won't take long to get rid of you now that Angus is out of my way."

"Please!" Raquel exclaimed, drawing her next card from her deck at long last. "Angus may be defeated, but he did most of the work for me! He left you in a weakened condition, so now I can complete the job he began and finish you off! It's not over yet, Kaiba, not until I finally stand victorious...and believe me, I will!"

**(Raquel: 6,500 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 2,500 Life Points)**

"Save your bluffs for later and just make your move," Kaiba jabbed at her. "You've wasted enough of my time as it is!"

Raquel sneered at him and examined her drawn card. Her scowl instantly turned upside-down as she looked at it, and she let out a bark of triumphant laughter. "Ha!" she taunted. "Well, Kaiba, if you thought your little jaunt into the darkness was over, I'm afraid you're about to be mistaken! I did say I would take your soul now, didn't I? Well, I can't do that without _this _on the field!"

Kaiba already knew what Raquel had drawn before she even flicked open her field slot and slid her card inside it. And sure enough, as the green pentagram drew itself onto the arena floor again and the Orichalcos symbol reappeared on Raquel's forehead, tinting her eyes an evil red again, he knew that she had drawn her own copy of the Seal of Orichalcos. But this time he wasn't worried. He just stood there in his calm and collected attitude, as if he was ignoring the Field Spell.

"To rectify a statement Angus made when he played this card," Raquel snickered through her clenched teeth, "since there's only one duelist left on each team, it will be the sole _survivor _rather than survivors standing when this duel's done. And you're staring right at her, Kaiba!"

"Oh, is that so?" Kaiba sneered icily at her. "Then why do you have to depend on some broken card to win your duels for you? If it were really your skills you were winning with, you might have been able to convince me of such a promise."

Raquel threw him an extremely ugly look. "Watch your mouth!" she shrieked. "How do you think I got to the semifinals of the British Regionals? I didn't use the Orichalcos then, and I certainly wasn't going to! That would have attracted too much attention! But even if I didn't have this card from the very beginning, Kaiba, you'd still be begging me for mercy by the time I was done with you!"

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you," Kaiba retaliated. "Now stop talking and make your move already, unless you want to end your turn!"

Raquel checked the last card left in her hand and gave a sneaky smirk. _Perfect! With the help of this card, I'll be able to execute the very combo that will destroy Kaiba and rid him of his soul! This duel is all mine!_

Chuckling, she set the card on her Disk facedown and sideways. "That ends my turn. And by the way, let's not forget that my Spirit Reaper gains five-hundred Attack Points due to the bonus it gets from the Orichalcos."

Kaiba looked at the Spirit Reaper and found that Raquel was correct; the symbol of the Orichalcos had appeared on the specter's forehead, though it didn't do much to enhance its wicked appearance as it was already evil enough. But its scores still altered accordingly. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 200) - (ATK: 800/ DEF: 200)

"Feel free to try to get past my Monsters if you can, Rich Boy," Raquel invited. "I'm sure I'll get a laugh out of this!"

Kaiba just grumbled something under his breath - likely something about how people could be so dramatic at times - and drew a card. He had to hold back a laugh the moment he saw what it was. "Let's see you try and get a laugh out of _this _move! It's time to welcome my Blue-Eyes White Dragon back to the field, thanks to the power of my Premature Burial Spell Card!"

A small light surrounded his body, and he winced a little as he felt his Life Points go down, but it didn't bother him too much. An overwhelming light lit up his field a second later, and as it cleared away the magnificent form of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was revealed once again, looking perfectly undamaged. It let out a prideful roar to announce its return. (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 2,500)

**(Raquel: 6,500 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 1,700 Life Points)**

_Yes! _Mokuba beamed with happiness at the resurrected dragon. _Seto's got his Blue-Eyes back! He can't lose now!_

"That thing again?" complained Raquel. "What do you and Wheeler have, a dragon fetish or something?"

"Maybe," Kaiba chuckled. "Maybe not. Either way, that shouldn't concern you right now! What _should _concern you is that my Blue-Eyes White Dragon is going to wipe your facedown Monster off the map with its White Lightning Attack!"

The Blue-Eyes picked up on the command within that statement and shot its White Lightning at the target. As the attack struck home, a small dome of blinding yet destructive energy lit up Raquel's field, covering her attacked Monster and her Spirit Reaper from sight. When it cleared, only the Spirit Reaper was left standing, but the other Monster was gone without a trace.

"Since you obviously didn't see my Monster before it went bye-bye, I'll tell you what it was," Raquel chuckled. "It was my Iron Blacksmith Kotetsu, and his ability allows me to add an Equip Spell Card in my deck to my hand. And I know just the one to choose...in fact, with my Bad Reaction to Simochi, it's practically my ultimate weapon!"

But Kaiba looked very unimpressed with this. "Your ultimate weapon is an Equip Spell?" he inquired. "Well that's rather pathetic of you. That kind of card is _easy _to destroy."

Raquel ignored his criticism and yanked her desired Equip Spell out of her deck as fast as she could. Kaiba gave a frown at this. It was like she was in a hurry to get that card into her hand...perhaps it was her most powerful Equip Spell in her arsenal? He hoped he wouldn't have to find out.

"End your turn yet, Rich Boy?" asked Raquel.

Kaiba just gave her a light nod in response.

"Good!" Raquel smirked with glee, drew again, and shoved her Equip Spell into a slot on her Disk. "Then it's time for you to lose control of your prized Monster, moneybags! I activate the card my Blacksmith gave me...Snatch Steal!"

Kaiba's senses almost froze like a computer would as his brain registered Raquel's declaration. "Say what?!" he bellowed.

"You heard me!" Raquel laughed. "Now I get to steal control of a Monster on your side of the field! And I think it's fairly obvious as to who I'm going to be choosing for this effect - your Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Now that thing will be fighting on my side!"

A shadowy thief with a mask covering his face and a sack slapped over his shoulder ran out from behind Raquel and entered the body of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon just like a ghost would. The dragon let out a strained roar, and then slowly flapped its wings and flew over to the Death Eater's side of the field, much to Kaiba's anger...and terror.

Raquel stretched out both her arms towards her new servant. "Now, my Blue-Eyes, let the power of the Orichalcos course through you!" she chanted. "Let it guide you on the path of total destruction!"

As the Blue-Eyes raised its head and let out a roar, which now sounded like a demonic parody of what it once was, Kaiba and Mokuba saw that the Seal had been freshly drawn into its forehead. The mere sight of it was enough to send a flashback tingling through their senses...

FLASHBACK

_On Pegasus's resort island, inside his Duellist Kingdom Castle..._

_Seto Kaiba, dressed in his purple trenchcoat he once wore to the Duelist Kingdom Tournament, was staring down Alister, a young man with red hair cropped over both sides of his head. He wore a white tanktop that left his stomach exposed, and he also wore combat jeans and wristbands. His young face was twisted with anger, amplified by the glowing Seal on his forehead._

_The two duelists were standing inside the Seal of Orichalcos, hovering right over what looked like an endless abyss below them. On Kaiba's side, there lurked two Blue-Eyes White Dragons and a facedown card, whereas Alister's field was completely empty, save for his Royal Decree Trap Card, which prevented all other Trap Cards from being activated and used. Mokuba was looking on at the duel from behind his brother with a mixture of ecstasy and worry._

**(Alister: 1,200 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 400 Life Points)**

_"If you thought I devastated you this turn," Kaiba mocked his foe with his usual smirk, "then just wait. The worst is ahead."_

_"Whatever," Alister grumbled and drew his card. His frown turned into a smirk of his own when he saw what it was. "I've got one word for your moves: predictable. I can see your lame strategy coming from a mile away."_

_"If that's the case, then let's see you do something about it," Kaiba challenged._

_Alister's smirk didn't waver. "I'll play a Spell Card," he stated, holding up his drawn card for Kaiba to see. "My Pot of Greed. It lets me draw two cards." Thus he slid the card into his Graveyard and pulled two more from the top of his deck. "Then I activate another Spell Card called Aetonix Flame!"_

_Suddenly, twin bursts of flaming tornadoes erupted from thin air and enveloped the screaming Blue-Eyes White Dragons. The CEO could only look on in shock as they exploded into pixels, which were then consumed by the flames._

_"How could you have destroyed both of my dragons?!" Kaiba shouted in anger._

_"You need to brush up on your Duel Monsters cards," Alister jibed him. "Aetonix Flame destroys every creature on the field that isn't a Fire Monster. And as an added bonus, it allows me to bring my Gorlag back to the field in Attack Mode."_

_The red-skinned fiend with horns and a sword made of blue flames rematerialized in front of Alister and let out a vengeful snarl, before it went silent as the Seal etched itself into its slimy forehead and lit its eyes with an evil green glow. (ATK and DEF: 1,000) - (ATK: 2,000/ DEF: 1,000)_

_"Next I'll activate another Spell Card known as Fire Whip!" came another shout from Alister._

_As the Gorlag swung its flaming sword, it grew into a whip that struck the discard slot on Kaiba's Duel-Disk and sent two cards falling out of it. "My cards!" Kaiba yelled out in surprise. Then his attention was grabbed by the reappearance of his two prized Blue-Eyes...only now they were on Alister's side of the field, crowded around the Gorlag._

_"Thanks to my Fire Whip, your precious Blue-Eyes belong to me!" gloated Alister. "And they've been resurrected as creatures of fire!"_

_"Those dragons are mine!" Kaiba shouted at him._

_"Call me crazy, but last I checked your dragons were on _my _side of the field!" Alister corrected. "Soon I'll use your favorite Monsters to take you down! Can you say 'perfect revenge?'"_

_Kaiba was too busy staring at his favorite Monsters in horror to answer the question, for the Seal of Orichalcos had now drawn themselves onto the dragons' foreheads. Their normally bright eyes were now like veils that issued waves of darkness, as was their roars, which now sounded demonic. (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 2,500) x 2 - (ATK: 3,500/ DEF: 2,500) x 2_

_"Since my Spell Card also made them Fire Monsters, my Gorlag gets a one-thousand Attack Point boost!" added Alister._

_The Gorlag's muscles bulged a little to show its increase in power. Its Attack Points was now nearly on par with the Blue-Eyes White Dragons themselves. (ATK: 2,000/ DEF: 1,000) - (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 1,000)_

_"You're staring into the face of three Monsters with a combined amount of ten-thousand Attack Points!" laughed Alister. "But luckily for you, I can't attack, so I'll place one card facedown and end my turn! And thanks to the sacred Seal of Orichalcos, when you lose your Life Points, you lose your soul!" His eyes flashed with pure malevolence, which made Kaiba take a small step backwards for a change. "You'll suffer like I did at the hands of your stepfather!"_

END FLASHBACK

"Oy, Kaiba! Hey! Rich Boy! I'm _talking _to you! Wake up from La-La Land already!"

Kaiba vaguely heard Raquel's shouts wrenching him back into reality. "Wh-wha...?" he mumbled.

"Were you not paying attention to my move at all?" Raquel's voice sounded very exasperated. "Good Lord, did you decide to take a nap or something? I'd at least like you to acknowledge me before I strip you of your soul and win the duel!"

The present situation soon started coming back to Kaiba. A bit ago, Raquel had played Snatch Steal to take control of his Blue-Eyes White Dragon to attack him with...

...his Blue-Eyes?!

Kaiba snapped his head back up to look at his prized Monster again, and found that the Seal of Orichalcos had indeed etched itself onto the beast's forehead, just like it did when Alister had stolen two of them from him during their first duel at Duelist Kingdom Island. Not only that, but Kaiba noticed that the scores of the dragon had altered a little, obviously due to the effect of the Seal. (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 2,500) - (ATK: 3,500/ DEF: 2,500)

"You are going to _pay _for what you've done..." the CEO spat, his voice filled with bile and hate. "Nobody destroys my Blue-Eyes White Dragons and gets away with it, nor do they steal them from me!"

"No-one except me, that is," Raquel boasted. "Besides, take a look at the field. If you really weren't paying attention before, you'll notice now that your Vorse Raider is gone. Then you should check your Life Points."

Kaiba hated being ordered around, but when he spared the field a glance just for the Hell of it, he discovered that his Vorse Raider was indeed gone. He turned his gaze to his Duel-Disk, and his eyes widened when he discovered that his Life Point counter had changed drastically...for the worse.

**(Raquel: 6,500 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 100 Life Points)**

"You must have used my Blue-Eyes to attack my Vorse Raider and weaken me when I wasn't looking..." he noted with a growl.

"Pay more attention next time," Raquel scolded him, before her face morphed back into its usual evil grin. "Not that you'll need to...because now, my task is complete! I've won the duel at last!"

"Huh?" Kaiba stared at her in confusion and irritation. "Can't you do the math right, Raquel? I still have a hundred Life Points left, so this duel isn't over."

"Check again, dead-eye," Raquel rebutted. "You obviously don't know the other effect of my Snatch Steal card. There's a reason it serves as the ultimate weapon when it's comboed with Bad Reaction to Simochi...during each of your Standby Phases, you receive an additional one-thousand Life Points. But again, you'll remember that I still have my Simochi Trap Card, which converts all your Life Point gains into damage to you instead!"

Kaiba's eyes widened considerably as the situation sank into him like a stone. "No!"

"Yes!" Raquel exploded into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. "In other words, no matter what you do, your soul is destined to be brought before my master so that our plans can finally reach fruition! Face it, you never had a chance from the very beginning, Kaiba!"

Kaiba's nerves tingled on the edge of panic, before he forced himself to think rationally again. _Actually...there is only ONE shot I have left, _he thought. _I still have a card in my deck that I can activate right before Raquel's Trap Card activates and wipes me out. It all depends on whether or not I draw it NOW. But if I don't...then Raquel wins..._ For an instant he was appalled with what he was thinking. _I can't believe this, but after all the times I've lectured Wheeler on how dumb luck doesn't win duels, I now have to depend on a lucky shot myself. It doesn't look like I have a choice, though. It's either do this, or lose Mokuba forever..._

Raquel soon finished laughing, even though she continued to snicker. "Well, Kaiba?" she asked. "Want to surrender _now_ while you still have the chance? Maybe if you do, I'll consider bringing you to the Dark Lord while you're intact and let him decide what to do with your soul. At least you'll have a little longer to keep it before my master decides your fate. Certainly that would be preferable to a humiliating defeat, right?"

Kaiba hitched his cool glare back onto his face and regarded Raquel again. "Have you gone deaf or something?" he demanded. "I told you before, I don't surrender to anyone, and I'm not about to start now. Not even if it looks like I'm about to lose."

"I'm not giving you another chance after this, Kaiba!" Raquel warned. "Need I remind you that it doesn't matter what card you draw, you lose the duel? And you also don't have the option of simply skipping your Standby Phase, which is when you'll lose! So, last chance. Either back down, or lose your soul!"

Kaiba's glare bore right into her very eyes as he gave his response: _"Never."_

Raquel rolled her eyes. "Why do they always want to do it the hard way?" she grumbled. "Oh, very well then! I'll just strip your soul from you the hard way! I end my turn now, Kaiba, so draw your card, and accept your demise!"

"Whose demise?" Kaiba smirked. "Mine...or yours?"

And with that strange question, he drew what would possibly be his last card. Before he could make any further remarks, Raquel burst out laughing again and pointed a finger at him.

"Time's up, Rich Boy!" she gloated. "Bad Reaction to Simochi now activates with that of Snatch Steal's, so you lose all your Life Points! Now...DIE!"

A split-second after her shout, something happened. A blast of searing white energy blasted out of the image of her Trap Card and slammed right into the floor near Kaiba, thus causing an explosion that threw up smoke all around him and his Luster Dragon #2. The smoke was so thick that nobody could see through it, not even Mokuba who was currently screaming out horrified shouts to where his brother once stood.

"SETO!" he yelled, flailing his limbs wildly in a vain effort to break free from his bindings. "SETO!"

Serenity was almost oblivious to the commotion going on nearby, but now more grief was piling up within her. First her brother, and now Mokuba's...who else would fall victim to the power of the Orichalcos, she wondered?

"Heh heh heh..." Raquel giggled evilly. "Two powerful souls in the bag...won't the Dark Lord be pleased with my efforts." She paused in her gloating to cast Angus's body a brief glimpse and then looked back at the sight of the explosion. "Shame that Angus couldn't make it, but maybe my master will restore his soul once he sees what I've accomplished...not to mention that we have only those three at Hogwarts left to attend to. Once that's done-"

"Writing your victory speech already?" a snide voice interrupted her. "Why don't you wait until you've actually won?"

Raquel gave a start. "Wh-what?!" she screeched. "Kaiba, is that you?! But you should be losing your soul by now!"

The smoke was starting to recede from the rooftop before she had asked her question. As the last of it cleared away...Kaiba was seen standing in his usual calm posture, with his arms folded across his chest and his glare unwavering, and the Luster Dragon #2 was also still there. Raquel gave them a suspicious look and checked her Life Point counter, only to have her jaw fall open in surprise.

**(Raquel: 6,500 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 100 Life Points)**

According to her Disk, the scores had not changed at all...

"SAY WHAAAAAAAAT?!" Raquel squawked before she could stop herself. "HOW THE HELL?!"

Even Mokuba, despite his overwhelming relief, was just as confused. So was Serenity, who for once had snapped out of her grief to look at what was going on.

"How, you ask?" Kaiba chuckled. "Very simple, Raquel..." He unfolded his arms and held up the card he had drawn right before the blast from Bad Reaction to Simochi had struck. "It was all due to one very good draw."

Raquel stared at the card in shock. "Mystical Space Typhoon?!" she exclaimed. "But Kaiba, you can't activate Spell Cards during the Standby Phase!"

"Where did you learn how to play the game?" inquired Kaiba. "Normally, it's true that you can't activate Spell Cards during your Standby Phase...save for one kind of Spell Card. As every duelist likely knows, there are six types of them. One of them is Quick-Play, which is what my Mystical Space Typhoon qualifies as."

"That still doesn't explain anything!" Raquel exploded indignantly. "You must have cheated!"

"I never cheat," Kaiba chuckled. "And besides, you should be able to figure this out. Didn't you see Angus activate a Quick-Play of his own from his hand during his _Battle _Phase? Wouldn't it make sense that the player can also use Quick-Plays from his hand during his _Standby _Phase too?"

Raquel was about to fire another accusation at Kaiba, but when she opened her mouth to form the words, none came out. She had been stopped dead in her tracks by Kaiba's deduction. It was all starting to come together for her.

"You see, Raquel," Kaiba went on, "Quick-Play Spell Cards can indeed be used during your opponent's turns, but _only _if they are facedown on your field, like Trap Cards. As for _your _turns, they can be used during _any _phase of your turns whatsoever, and that includes the Draw, Standby, End Phases..._all_ of them. You can even use them from your hand if it's your turn, regardless of the phase. Thus, I was able to use my Mystical Space Typhoon right before your Snatch Steal's recovery effect activated, and I used it to destroy that Equip Spell! And you know what that means, right?"

Raquel had no time to respond as the Seal vanished from the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's forehead, thus freeing the wyvern of the evil Field Spell's influence. It let out a roar that sounded like it was happy, spread its wings, and soared back to its master's field. Luster Dragon #2 gave the Blue-Eyes a friendly roar, as if welcoming it back. (ATK: 3,500/ DEF: 2,500) - (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 2,500)

"That's...just...inconceivable..." Raquel protested weakly. "Nobody should be able to draw such a card right at the literal moment they need it! It's just impossible!"

"I've got some advice for you," sneered Kaiba. "Live with it. I'm still in this duel, and I intend to win it all." He put his miracle card inside his Graveyard as he spoke. "Now, last I checked, it was my Standby Phase, so now I'm moving into my Main Phase 1."

"All right, Seto!" Mokuba shouted in joy. "You rock! Now beat this crazy woman like you do with everyone else!"

Raquel recovered rather abruptly, and she glared at the young boy with severe annoyance. "Silence, you brat!" she snarled. "Your brother just got lucky, that's all! He's still clinging to the edge where Life Points are concerned, and I still have plenty of direct damage cards left in my deck to finish him off with! All I have to do is draw one of them on my next turn, and I'll still win!"

"No, you will not," Kaiba stated, earning him the attention of the angered Death Eater once more. "You're not getting a next turn. I plan to see to that. Now, I'll first place one card facedown..." He did so, and then took his other card and threw it into his Disk. "Next, I'll activate Card of Demise! Since my hand is now empty, it lets me draw five cards, at the cost of discarding my entire hand after five of my End Phases are over!"

He snapped off five more cards from the top of his deck and fanned them out. He looked over the text on each of them carefully so as not to miss out on a single detail.

"Play whatever cards you want," Raquel snapped at him. "It won't change the fact that you're about to lose!"

Kaiba looked up from his new hand with a smirk and flipped one of his cards around. "Oh, you think so? Not even this? I activate Stamping Destruction!"

Raquel was about to ask what that card did, but she got her answer when the Blue-Eyes White Dragon suddenly slammed its tail into the ground, sending out shockwaves that all slammed into the Bad Reaction to Simochi card and tore it to pieces. Then some of them struck Raquel and just about floored her, but despite that the move had caught her unawares she was able to maintain her footing.

"My Trap Card!" she wailed. "What have you done?!"

"Demolished it, what does it look like?" Kaiba asked sarcastically. "Like Dragon's Gunfire, Stamping Destruction requires that I control a Dragon-type Monster if I wish to play it. It can destroy a Spell or Trap Card on the field, and also deal the owner five-hundred points of damage. So you see, you're not the only one with some decent direct damage cards."

**(Raquel: 6,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 100 Life Points)**

Raquel managed to shake off her loss and scowled at Kaiba. "Big deal! I don't need that card now that I've got you hanging by a thread, and you still can't get past my Spirit Reaper!" She jabbed a finger at the sneering specter to further reinforce her words. "So what was that supposed to accomplish?"

"I'll get to your Spirit Reaper in a moment," Kaiba promised. "For now, though, I'd like you to pay attention. To continue with my move, I play the Spell Card I set facedown before playing Card of Demise. It's called Trade-In!"

His facedown card flipped up, and he slipped a card into his Graveyard and drew the next two from his deck. "This lets me discard a level eight Monster in my hand, like my second Blue-Eyes White Dragon, in order to draw two more cards. So now I'm back up to five."

Raquel now looked bored. "Still a worthless move," she intoned. "Just hurry and finish up your turn so I can take mine and wipe you out."

But the triumphant look Kaiba was now sporting begged to differ with her assumption. "Guess again, Raquel! Like I said, you're not getting a next turn, for I've now drawn a means to unleash my ultimate weapon!"

Immediately Raquel was yanked out of her boredom and once again she was taken by surprise. "Come again?" she asked. "Are you talking about your Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon? But you have one of the three Blue-Eyes in your Graveyard, and you've already used Polymerization, so you can't possibly summon it!"

"There are loads of ways to summon Fusion Monsters!" laughed Kaiba. "Polymerization has only been the primary example, but there are plenty of other such cards, and I hold one of them in my hands right now! I activate Dragon's Mirror!"

Behind the Blue-Eyes, there arose a stand with an ancient-looking mirror perched atop it, with the glass surface surrounded by five colored symbols. Everyone looked at the mirror and found that it was casting a reflection of the Blue-Eyes, but it looked different, as it had three heads instead of one.

"Let me explain how this card works, even though your thick skull might not get it," said Kaiba. "Dragon's Mirror allows me to summon a Dragon-type Fusion Monster from my Fusion Deck, for as long as I remove the necessary components from my side of the field and in my Graveyard. For this Monster I plan to summon, three are needed. You're seeing one of them on my field right now, and the other two are in my Graveyard."

"But Kaiba, there's only _one _Blue-Eyes in your Graveyard, not two!" Raquel protested.

"True, but you're forgetting something," the CEO pointed out. "I still have Versago the Destroyer in my Graveyard, and as you know I can treat it as the substitute for any Fusion-Material Monster during a Fusion Summon, including one made by my Dragon's Mirror. So for this case, it'll take the place of one of the three Blue-Eyes!"

Raquel grit her teeth. This was not going to be a pleasant sight to see...

"However..." Kaiba suddenly grabbed another card and jammed it into a slot. "Before the effect of Dragon's Mirror really takes place, I'm going to chain to it with another Quick-Play Spell from my hand! It's called Emergency Provisions, and with it I can discard my Dragon's Mirror and Premature Burial from the field in order to gain two-thousand Life Points back! And of course, Premature Burial has to be _destroyed _in order for the equipped Monster to be wiped out as well, but since the effect of Emergency Provisions does _not _technically destroy the cards it discards, my Blue-Eyes that's on the field will be spared! Just see for yourself!"

At that point, the stand with its mirror shattered into a storm of shards and rocks, with all of the debris scattering around the wooden field. Then a red aura flared briefly around the Blue-Eyes White Dragon before vanishing along with the debris, leaving the two dragons on the field looking a little confused.

**(Raquel: 6,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 2,100 Life Points)**

_Damned loopholes... _Raquel seethed. _Couldn't the card makers have been a little more careful about those? Now Kaiba's exploiting all sorts of technicalities that I never even knew about in the first place, and I call myself a British Regional semi-finalist?!_

"Now then..." Kaiba continued with yet another sinister chuckle. "I may have discarded my Dragon's Mirror from the field, but that doesn't negate its effect, so I still get to complete my Fusion Summoning! And all I have to do is remove from play the Versago and Blue-Eyes in my Graveyard along with the Blue-Eyes I have on the field, to bring forth my ultimate beast of destruction!"

The ghostly silhouettes of a second Blue-Eyes and Versago both appeared beside the living Blue-Eyes, and then they all swirled into one another like liquids being mixed together. The result was more light spilling onto the field...and _three_ earth-shaking roars shaking the building to its very foundation. Raquel shrunk away in fear, thinking that the building would collapse any minute now, but the shaking stopped soon as the light faded...

...and as it did, it revealed what was possibly one of the most horrifying images ever to be looked upon in the game of Duel Monsters. It was a monstrous three-headed version of the Blue-Eyes, with a larger body and a bigger wingspan. It was not mindless like the Green Baboon, yet no signs of mercy could be seen within the narrow eyes of the beast's three heads. (ATK: 4,500/ DEF: 3,800)

"You asked if I was talking about my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon...well, here it is!" Kaiba announced, laughing. "And with its arrival comes your destruction!"

Raquel was so hypnotized by the mere sight of the Ultimate Dragon, she forgot to remind Kaiba that her Spirit Reaper was still immune to battle...not that Kaiba had forgotten that little fact. And as for the Spirit Reaper, it was cowering inside its cloak and hiding its face with its scythe, as if thinking that this colossal titan would decide to snap it up like a snack any moment now.

"And the best part is..." Kaiba held up one of the three cards left in his hand. "I'm still far from done with this turn! I plan to hurt you as much as I can, so I'll now activate Dimension Fusion! With it, I can spend the Life Points I just got back in order to allow both players to call back any of their Monsters that have been removed from the game! As I recall, you have none removed from play, Raquel...but I happen to have the three I just removed for the effect of Dragon's Mirror, so you're about to come face-to-face with my two Blue-Eyes and my Versago once again!"

As his Life Points dropped back to their small amount of one-hundred, a huge rift slashed itself open in the sky nearby the rooftop, and from it flew two Blue-Eyes White Dragons, with the diminutive Versago the Destroyer following from behind. They each grouped themselves around the Ultimate Dragon and Luster Dragon #2. (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 2,500) x 2, (ATK: 1,100/ DEF: 900)

**(Raquel: 6,000 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 100 Life Points)**

"What in blazes..." Raquel gasped. "Five Monsters?!"

"And it only gets worse!" Kaiba boasted, plugging yet another Spell Card into his Duel-Disk's wing. "Next I play the Continuous Spell Card, Precious Cards from Beyond! This allows me to draw two cards each time I Tribute Summon a Monster that requires two or more sacrifices!"

Raquel felt like her head was spinning. Kaiba was playing Spell Card after Spell Card and just wasn't letting up. How long was this going to go on?

"And I plan to summon such a Monster right now!" Kaiba added, twiddling his last card in his fingers eagerly. "I sacrifice my Luster Dragon #2 and my Versago the Destroyer, in order to summon my third and final Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Luster Dragon #2 and Versago both vanished from sight at the same time, and a third Blue-Eyes White Dragon that looked exactly like the first two materialized in their place and swooped up to accompany its siblings and their gigantic fused form. They all snarled at Raquel with rage and anticipation. (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 2,500)

"And since that required two sacrifices to pull off, I get to draw two cards thanks to my Precious Cards from Beyond!" Kaiba jerked two more cards out of his deck and grinned at them. "Well, look at that...one of them is Pot of Avarice, which I'll use right now! It lets me return five Monsters in my Graveyard to my deck, reshuffle, and draw two more cards yet again!"

"Kaiba!" Raquel shrieked, her voice growing louder from her increasing panic. "Stop it with all the Spell Cards and all the drawing! You're really freaking me out!"

Kaiba ignored her and watched his Disk eject five cards from its discard slot - Luster Dragon #2, Vorse Raider, Versago the Destroyer, Divine Dragon Ragnarok, and King Dragun. He slipped his King Dragun into a pocket on his trenchcoat, then combined the other four cards with his deck and shuffled rather quickly. Once he was done, he plugged the deck back into its holder and drew twice more, raising his hand of cards to three.

_Man, what is happening with Seto?! _Mokuba thought, his own astonishment showing itself on his face. _He's never drawn this often in a turn before, nor has he used so many Spell Cards! It's like...like his deck _knows _what he wants and is just giving it to him! But there's no way that can be true!_

Kaiba let out a bark of laughter at his new cards. "Now, for the final piece of my strategy!" he exclaimed. "I have one last Spell Card to play, and like your Snatch Steal it's an Equip Spell, only it's more powerful...go, Megamorph!"

"Oh, no!" Raquel seemed to realize what Kaiba's intentions were. "You plan to equip that to my Spirit Reaper so that it'll be destroyed by its own effect!"

"Well...I _could _do that, yes," admitted Kaiba. "But I have something even better in store for your Spirit Reaper, so instead I'm going to equip Megamorph to my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Since your Life Points exceed mine big-time, it means that my dragon's Attack Points are doubled!"

The Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon grew even taller and wider in size, so that it would have taken up the space on the entire rooftop were it not for the fact that it was hovering in the air. The tri-headed beast let out a combined roar that was even stronger than its last one, yet still Kaiba was unfazed by the ear-splitting noise. (ATK: 4,500/ DEF: 3,800) - (ATK: 9,000/ DEF: 3,800)

Despite that the Ultimate Dragon had reached a considerable record in body size and Attack Points, Raquel was more baffled than she was frightened. "What...?" was all that she could say.

"Now then, let's take care of your annoying Spirit Reaper, shall we?" Kaiba suggested. "I'll first set a card facedown...and next I play this!" He brandished a card high above his head so that everyone could see it. "The Fang of Critias!"

His Legendary Dragon soared down from somewhere in the sky and bellowed an angry roar, obviously upset over the defeat of Hermos's bearer. The facedown card Kaiba had just set lifted up as well to reveal his Interdimensional Matter Transporter, and both it and Critias started to melt into one another.

"I fuse Critias with my Interdimensional Matter Transporter!" yelled Kaiba. "In order to create...the Cyber Digital Dragon!"

A new dragon glided out of the vortex created by the fusion and took its place on the field. It looked just like Critias, except that its silvery body was made of a sleek metallic design not unlike that of the Interdimensional Matter Transporter, and there were lights pulsating all over its body. (ATK and DEF: 2,000)

Raquel managed to muster up the courage to ask about the new Monster. "How's that supposed to handle my Spirit Reaper? It's not even as strong as your other four dragons, Kaiba!"

"But it has a special ability," Kaiba countered. "Once per turn, Cyber Digital Dragon can remove a card on your side of the field from play, and it stays gone for until three of your turns pass! And of course, there's only one card I see on your field..."

The truth slammed into Raquel like a train. "NOOOOO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Yes!" Kaiba shouted back. "Now, Cyber Digital Dragon, remove her Spirit Reaper from the game and clear me a path to my victory _and _my brother! Digital Eraser!"

The Cyber Digital Dragon opened its mechanical maw and let loose a beam of white light that struck the Spirit Reaper head-on. The specter was still for a second...and then it dissolved into a virtual cloud of ones and zeroes, leaving Raquel's field as blank as a clean slate. The Death Eater fell to her knees, unable to digest what had just happened.

"And with that, you're wide open!" Kaiba barked. "And you're at the mercy of a group of dragons whose combined Attack Points all add up to..." He paused for a moment to let the tension increase, before giving the rest of his statement. "...twenty-thousand. And I intend to hit you with _every single point."_

Mokuba and Serenity were stunned. With the Monsters being made real by the Orichalcos, if Raquel took on twenty-thousand points of damage...

"This is for kidnapping my brother and believing that you can beat me as if I was just some common duelist!" Kaiba declared wrathfully. "Go, my dragons! Demolish every single one of her Life Points, and finish this duel!"

Even as the five dragons all began charging up their attacks in their mouths, Raquel didn't respond. Her mind was in a whirl over how close she had come to obtaining Kaiba's soul. And now her victory was being snatched from her very fingers right when she was sure it was hers...

She was broken from her thoughts when a storm of energy unlike anything that had ever been seen before collided with her. The agony was immediately too much for her nerves to take. She couldn't even muster the strength to scream. She lost consciousness right when a devastating explosion erupted all around the rooftop and blew smoke everywhere. One would compare this devastation to that of a nuclear bomb...

**(Raquel: 0 Life Points)----(Kaiba: 100 Life Points)**

OOO

Down at the Kame Game Shop, Solomon Mouto was busy sweeping the front porch of his shop as usual, humming a tune to himself as he did. He wasn't prepared for the slight tremor that suddenly shook the ground, causing him to fall on his behind and drop his broom.

"Oof!" he grunted in surprise. "What the..."

Then the tremor was gone before he could run around screaming that there was an earthquake. Solomon blinked in confusion as he stood back up and looked around, thinking that something might have happened from nearby. What he _did _find was a strange sight...a humongous cloud of smoke blowing around the rooftop of the abandoned building where Yugi had once faced Gurimo. The sight sent a chill through his old bones.

_Oh, my Lord... _he thought. _Please tell me that it isn't an Orichalcos duel...if it is, I hope that it's not one of those kids who lost!_

OOO

All around Domino City, the same tremor that had knocked Solomon over had also shaken a number of locations around the metropolis. Some of the civilians were knocked over by the tremor, and were about to run for cover, fearing it was an earthquake, before the ground settled back down. Confused chatter started breaking out all among the people.

OOO

At the Domino City Pier, Mako Tsunami was sitting at the dock with a fishing rod in hand. He was preparing to cast his rod's hook out into the water, when suddenly a tremor shook the ground so hard, it sent him falling head over heels into the water. He broke the surface, spluttering and spitting out water.

"What in the name of the Mother Ocean...?!" he swore loudly.

Before he could get any further with his statement, the tremor had stopped, and all was quiet again. Mako, who was unsure about whether to be angry or confused, pulled himself back out of the water and looked around, wondering if something at the harbour had caused the tremor.

"I hope it's not a tsunami about to hit this land..." he moaned. "If so, then it's going to be Hell dealing with it..."

OOO

Voldemort hissed with anger. He had sensed the defeat of his two servants, Angus and Raquel, and was _not _about pleased about this at all. His servants had come so close to taking the souls of Kaiba and Joey, and although they had halfway succeeded, it was not good enough for him. It would have helped if they had taken Kaiba out of the picture as well...

Oh well, he soon decided as he calmed down. To him, one soul was better than nothing. It wasn't going to be much of a wrench in the plans he had in store for the Item Bearers at Hogwarts.

"You," Voldemort said to one of the cloaked figures surrounding him. "Return to your post and monitor the Item Bearers again. They should be receiving news of their friend Wheeler's demise any minute now, and it will be the last straw for those fools..." A nasty chuckle escaped his lips as he finished speaking.

The figure bowed to him with respect. "Yes, My Lord," the voice was quiet and docile as the figure turned and left without another word.

"As for you," Voldemort addressed another of the cloaked figures. "Find the bodies of my defeated servants and bring them to me at once. If you find the cards that contain their souls, do what you want with them. I won't be requiring them anymore. Just make sure you bring me their bodies, their Disks, and all their cards. If you lack any of them when you return, I won't be very merciful..."

His servant was rather confused by this request, but he didn't dare disobey, especially not after the threat Voldemort had just issued. After bowing to Voldemort, he turned to follow the first figure out of the room. The last of his cloak's tails soon vanished into the darkness of the hallway as he left.

Voldemort settled back down into his chair with a grin of satisfaction. "Everything is in place now, my Death Eaters," he proclaimed. "Soon the bearers will leave Hogwarts...and when they do, the final phase of my plans shall begin, and the Wizarding World will see a new age of darkness led by me..."

OOO

Back at the scene of the dramatic clash between Kaiba and Raquel...

The smoke had cleared away almost a minute after the duel's conclusion. All five of Kaiba's dragons had disappeared from sight, along with the cursed arena that was the Seal of Orichalcos. Raquel's body was also lying facedown on the floor beside Angus's, and her copy of the Seal had fallen out of her Disk's field slot, revealing a picture of Raquel herself trapped behind bars just like Angus. Her soul had been taken from her after she had lost consciousness due to the relentless assault dished out by Kaiba a bit ago.

As for Kaiba, he was down on one knee, trying to gather his strength. The intensity of the crazy duel had taken a lot out of him. He wished he could go to sleep right now, but he didn't plan to yet, for his work was not done.

The magical bindings keeping Mokuba and Serenity captive finally broke, depositing the two teens onto the floor of the rooftop. They both clambered up onto the wooden platform and ran over to their respective brothers, with Mokuba throwing his arms around Kaiba and Serenity dropping to her knees beside Joey's comatose form.

"Joey! Wake up!"

Kaiba paused in his hug, and both of them turned to examine Joey for themselves, though they knew it was hopeless. His soul was gone. As Mokuba placed his hands on Serenity's shoulders, Kaiba crouched down and took Joey's deck from his duel disk and pulled off the top card…the card Joey would have drawn the next turn.

The Claw of Hermos.

He would get it to Yugi. He didn't like Joey, but Kaiba was a man of honour, and he would honour the blonde's last request. He owed Joey that much.

OOO

* * *

**Card Specs**

_Name: _Cyber Digital Dragon

_Card Type: _Fusion Monster

_Image: _A sleek, metallic dragon with silvery skin, and warped lights shooting all over its body.

_Card Stats: _(2000/2000) Level 7 Light attribute Machine type

_Card Text:_ Interdimensional Matter Transporter + The Fang of Critias. This card cannot be special summoned except by sending the above Fusion Material Cards to the Graveyard (you do not use Polymerization). Once per turn, you may remove one card on your opponent's side of the field from play. After three of your opponent's End Phases, the removed card returns to the field in the same position it was in.

_This card was created by DuelistBlake1852 for his story Return of the Orichalcos. All creative credit goes to him._

_

* * *

_

Again, props for the duel goes to DuelistBlake1852. Now I'm going to crawl back into my box…


	29. Chapter 29: Where Your Heart Is

**A/N: **This chapter has been reposted with some of the scenes from the original draft of 28 in it, but otherwise the content is the same.

* * *

**Chapter 29: Where Your Heart Is**

All three Bearers awoke with a start; gasping for breath, dread settling on each of their faces like sweat.

"Something's happened," Ryou gasped, his face paler than usual.

"The Seal has taken a prisoner," Yugi said, trembling in the flickering candlelight.

"And it's someone close to us," Malik added. "Why else would it wake all of us up at once?"

Yugi was clutching his heart, a sharp pain flooding through it, and the hand at his chest trembling in fear. Wave after wave of panic was surging through him. It felt like the link to his friends had been damaged, as though one of them was cut off… Slowly he took his right hand away from his chest and looked at the back, where, a year and a half ago, Tea had drawn the smiley face on the back of their hands in the middle of Death T three, symbolising how they would always be there for each other.

But now he wasn't! He was on the other side of the world, unable to help them, and one of them right now, had just lost their soul…

Outside the castle, there was an echoing roar, which sent all three Item bearers scrambling for the window. High above the grounds, Timaeus was circling the tower, roaring his anguish for the whole school to hear, declaring his grief for his lost brother.

"Timaeus," Yugi gasped. "He's in pain…"

He looked again at his hand, and could almost see the ink.

"No! Joey!"

OOO

Harry listened from behind his curtains as Yugi, Ryou and Malik seized their dressing gowns and exited the dorm. He had no idea what was going on, but it did not sound good. He raised himself slightly, the urge to get up and follow them appearing strongly, before it was smothered out. His mind played over the flashbacks again, and again. He sighed and looked up at the canopy of his bed, wondering what could have gone wrong now, and why they had rushed off so suddenly…

Harry sighed and rolled over in bed. He was trying not to think about the situation. Being surrounded by Orichalcos stones was horrible, and making it harder for him to even consider wanting the transfers back as friends. While he certainly didn't trust their other selves, and it was clear that Ron and Hermione certainly didn't either after everything that had been revealed to them, it was almost lonely without the other three around. Harry hadn't realised just how used they had all got to having them around. True it had always been he, Ron and Hermione on one side, and the transfers on another and there was a very distinct line where one ended and the other began, but it felt weird not having the three on speaking terms with them.

The Boy Who Lived rolled over again and closed his eyes, hoping briefly, in a moment of non Orichalcos influenced thought, that maybe things would just magically go back to normal…

OOO

Unfortunately the next day, things had not gone back to normal.

After waking up in the middle of the night, Yugi. Ryou and Malik had hastily gone to see Professor Dumbledore and warn him. While Bakura disapproved of this (claiming that it was a waste of time considering how incompetent the wizards had proved in protection so far), Yugi, Yami, Ryou and Malik's fear had outweighed this, and they had gone to seek help. Dumbledore had promised to find out exactly what had happened, but it hadn't stopped the three bearers from wandering between classes in a daze. The fact was not helped by the recently installed silence between them and Harry, Ron and Hermione.

The staff obviously knew something was wrong. It was clear just from looking at Yugi, Ryou and Malik that they were distracted. They had been extremely depressed in class lately, but today it seemed as though their hearts just weren't in their magic anymore. Snape had whacked Malik around the back of the head twice in Defence Against the Dark Arts for almost falling asleep, and Ryou, who normally shone in potions lesson, managed to upset his entire cauldron onto Slughorn, causing his robes to shrink and almost choke him. The scary thing was, after Slughorn had recovered and sorted his clothing out enough to lecture him, Ryou didn't seem to care. He had just stared somewhere at his knees and nodded at everything Slughorn had said.

At lunchtime, Yugi had noticed Harry sending them glances down the table, and he wondered if he would say anything. Harry it seemed wasn't ready to talk to them yet, and Yugi had gone back to worrying about Joey.

"What is his problem?" Bakura had grumbled, sitting on the table in spirit form next to Ryou. Yami, who was nearby, also invisible to the rest of the students, was also studying Harry with a curious expression.

"I don't know," the Pharaoh admitted. "But I don't think he's quite ready to forgive us yet."

Bakura had just grunted. He couldn't care less about the Gryffindors right now. He had more important things to do…like try and offer Ryou some comfort so he didn't go upsetting more potions on people's heads.

Yami sighed and exchanged a look with his own hikari before vanishing back into his soul room to deal with his own anxiety. Yugi felt sick, a reflection of his yami's own worry. The dragons were grieving. And now the darkness was coming…the darkness of the Orichalcos. It had to be that… Voldemort must have known what the visions would do to them – to their friends. And now he was attacking when the bearers felt at their weakest.

OOO

"_A family shall be torn apart, and darkness shall fall to the earth once more…_"

The words chilled Yugi as he stood in the Room of Requirement now, while the rest of the DA members bounced around him, dodging curses, and trying to hex their opponents. Ryou's prediction had been only a week ago, and it seemed to be coming true. A family had to refer to the dragons being separated the previous night. It was clear that something had happened to the dragons, and one of the chosen duellists, and Yugi was sure that it was Joey. Something in his gut told him that his blonde haired friend was the one who had suffered.

Yugi dodged another curse, absently throwing his own, not caring who or what he really hit. It had been Malik's idea to continue going to the DA meetings. While they might not be speaking to Harry and the others, it did not mean that they didn't want to get extra defence practise in, and besides, there were other people at the meeting to talk to. Plus a distraction from worrying about Joey would help.

A little away from Yugi, Malik and Bakura had attracted a small audience. The two had got bored of throwing spells and insults, and had progressed instead to throwing something else – namely knives. A space had been cleared, and Ryou had magically painted a large target on the wall, before retreating and allowing his yami to do as he pleased. Malik had immediately joined in, and the two were now involved in a heated competition. Yugi had to admit; it was doing a very good job of taking out their frustrations…even if it was on the poor defenceless wall.

Malik cheered as his third knife landed in the dead centre of the target, protruding from the wall sinisterly.

"Bulls eye!" he cheered, before turning toward Bakura. "One knife left Bakura! You don't have much of a chance!"

Scowling a little, Bakura took his place, and threw the knife almost casually at the wall. The end of the blade slammed straight into the handle of the one Malik had just cast – a deadly accurate shot.

"You were saying?" Bakura smirked. "I win!" Malik looked extremely put out.

"Show off…" he muttered. Bakura just continued to look smug, like the cat that had got the cream.

The door to the Room of Requirement swung open suddenly, causing everyone to stop what they were doing. The flashes of flying light from the spells vanished abruptly, as all practising ceased. Bakura froze in the action of pulling his knives from the wall, and next to him, Malik looked alarmed. Yugi just stood there, his heart in his mouth.

On the threshold, stood a very grave looking Albus Dumbledore.

"Professor?" Harry stepped forward. As the appointed leader of the DA he felt he should probably say something. Sadly though, he was a bit lost for words. After all, Dumbledore had never visited their meetings before…

"Good evening Mr Potter," Dumbledore inclined his head to Harry. "I apologise for interrupting, but I must speak with Mr Mutou, Mr Bakura and Mr Ishtar. I trust I can find them here?"

Harry was surprised as the crowd parted to let the anxious transfers through. Apparently what he had overheard last night had been serious, for he had never seen Dumbledore look so grim. He immediately worried for the transfers. He might not care for the spirits any more, but he was still concerned for Yugi, Ryou and Malik.

The door swung closed behind them, and Malik immediately spoke up.

"Professor, did you find out anything?"

The headmaster sighed. "I'm afraid that we do have news. If you would please follow me, I think we should discuss this in my office."

Yugi and Yami were not happy. They wanted to be told immediately, damned whoever might overhear them. Nothing was more important than their friend's wellbeing, not even keeping something as trivial as security…

The sombre announcement by the headmaster left everyone in silence for the rest of the walk. Everything seemed to faze out around Yugi as they walked, ascended the staircase and entered the office. He was only conscious of his worry, his concern, his anxiety, and his other half's identical feelings reflecting off his own.

As soon as the office door closed Malik immediately began talking again.

"What happened Professor?" he asked again. "We know someone was Sealed last night. Who was it?"

Dumbledore's response was another sigh. "I think you three should sit down…"

"Enough stalling!" Bakura snapped, losing his patience. "Who was it?! We've waited all day for you to confirm it. We won't wait any longer!"

The headmaster nodded. "I apologise. You are right. Someone close to you was captured by the Orichalcos last night."

He sat back in his own chair and began to retell the events.

"Yesterday afternoon a group of Death Eaters kidnapped Mokuba Kaiba and Serenity Wheeler from their respective schools. Their brother's were issued with instructions to meet the Death Eaters and duel for their sibling's freedom."

He paused to let the new sink in before dropping the final bombshell.

"I am afraid Joey Wheeler did not make it out of the duel."

It had been exactly what Yugi had been afraid of. Ryou gasped in horror and Malik swore under his breath in Arabic. Yugi buried his face in his hands, a sickening mixture of disbelief, anger, grief and pain coursing through him.

Joey was gone…his best friend…the one who had protected him…taught him how to stand up for himself…the friend he had gained thanks to the wish he made on the Puzzle… Trapped, sealed away again. Locked up by the Orichalcos to be used for whatever Voldemort's plan was…or worse, to feed the Great Leviathan…it was almost more than Yugi could bear. In his soul room he felt Yami's emotions, identical but different. Joey was a friend, but also some he could rely on. Someone whose courage and bravery were admirable, and whom Yami respected and trusted. Though they saw the friendship in different ways, it was the same feeling of loss and emptiness upon finding he was not there any longer.

"No more," Malik said eventually, turning and heading for the door of the study. His two words spoke volumes. Ryou nodded his head in silent agreement. It seemed Dumbledore understood too, for the Headmaster inclined his head.

"I understand," he said heavily. "I shall be in contact with the Ministry and they shall arrange to have you retransferred to Domino High. You will take care of travel yourselves?"

Yugi nodded vaguely. Ryou, seeing that Yugi was still in shock, spoke up on his behalf.

"We're sorry Professor," he said, and he really meant it. Coming to Hogwarts had affected all of them. And despite the death and danger, Ryou in particular knew they would be sorry to leave. But Ryou also knew that their friends took priority. He had been alone for too long. He had lost his father to the Orichalcos, Yugi had lost his best friend, and next time it could be Malik who lost someone.

They would not lose anyone else!

"So am I," Dumbledore said. "I am sorry it came to this. It was never my intention to put any of your families or friends in danger."

"Yeah and a great deal of good your intentions did us!" came a snarl from Ryou's lips. Bakura's crimson glare bore into the headmaster before he turned and marched out of the office, the shadows around him twitching as they responded to his anger.

"I should go too," Yugi said, his voice slightly hoarse from emotion. "I'm sorry too Professor. Me and Yami. I know we were supposed to protect the school, but we have others that need protecting now."

He got up slowly and headed for the door. Dumbledore's voice stopped him with his hand on the doorknob.

"Yugi…good luck. The doors of the school are always open to you and your friends."

Yugi turned and nodded.

"Thanks for all you've done for us. We never told you just how much being here has changed us. We're all really grateful."

And with those parting words, he left.

Only when he joined Ryou at the bottom of the stairs, and his friend had apologised for not being able to hold Bakura back, did Yugi allow all the worry he had built up over the last day, and the pain in the last few minutes to burst out of him in the form of tears on his friend's shoulder.

OOO

Harry and Ron were pulling on their pyjamas when Malik stormed in. He didn't say anything to any of the other boys, who all stared at him. He only cursed fluently in Arabic, Egyptian and Japanese, and began rummaging in his trunk. No one dared speak to him for fear of pissing him off further. Not five minutes later, Yugi and Ryou appeared. Ryou was paler than usual, and was trembling slightly with emotion. Yugi was hiccupping and one look at his eyes showed that he had been crying – their usual amethyst radiance was tarnished by the hue of red that indicated tears.

"What's going on?" Ron finally dared ask. Yugi's hiccupping seemed to increase, and Ryou brushed away a single tear. Malik's answer was to straighten up with a small pouch of floo powder in his hand. He dealt better with grief by doing something constructive.

"It's none of your business," he snapped at Ron before hurrying over to the door, pausing to speak to his friends.

"I'll contact Ishizu by floo and tell her to call Kaiba. I'll be back with the flight details."

"Since when have they been connected with the floo network?" Ryou asked, breaking away from comforting Yugi to ask in interest.

"Since we were attacked at Easter," Malik said. "I thought it would be a good idea, so we linked up our three houses." Seeing Yugi's emotional state, Malik placed a hand on each of his friend's shoulder. "You guys pull yourselves together and start packing. We need to be ready as soon as possible."

Ryou nodded, turning to Yugi as Malik left.

"Do you want to check in with the monsters?" he asked. Yugi nodded, urgency in his movements and he clambered onto his own bed and pulled the curtains closed, casting silencing charms so that he would not be heard. Once that was done, Yami phased out next to him.

"We'll get him back Aibou," he assured. Yugi paused in flicking through his deck to look at his Other Self.

"I know," he said. Yami smiled.

"I'm proud of you Yugi for being so brave."

"I don't feel very brave," Yugi said. "I feel like we've been cowards hiding away in the school."

"We came to help Aibou," Yami reminded him. "But our help is needed elsewhere now."

Yugi's eyes, normally soft and gentle, hardened into a look that was deadly serious. "Voldemort…the Orichalcos…even the Leviathan won't stop us from saving Joey."

Yami nodded in agreement, and Yugi found the card he was looking for.

"Dark Magician!"

The tall purple robed spellcaster appeared, stooping slightly in the cramped space. He bowed before the two figures.

"Master Yugi? Master Pharaoh?" he asked sensing the two boy's distress and guessing the reason. Timaeus and Critias had sensed the capture of their brother, and the other monsters knew too.

"Are our friends safe?" Yugi asked instantly. Dark Magician nodded.

"Their guardians are watching them. Fire Sorcerer is protecting Tea, and Super Roboyarou Tristan. Exodia is guarding your home and Grandfather. Spiria and Apophis are watching the Tomb Keepers, and Horus, Kisara and Critias are with the Priest and his brother."

"Okay," Yugi relaxed slightly. "Have the Goddess With the Third Eye protect Serenity, and Orgoth the Relentless protect Duke. Cyber Harpie will have already found out what's going on, so Mai will be fine. Check in with Fire Princess too and make sure that Rebecca is okay. Pegasus has his own ways of protecting himself so he should be alright. I'll contact everyone myself when we get back."

Dark Magician bowed before vanishing again. Yugi ripped back the curtains to find Ryou hastily throwing things into his trunk. Yugi quickly did the same after exchanging a look with Ryou to confirm that everyone else was okay.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, knowing that unlike with Malik, he was unlikely to be snapped at by Yugi and Ryou.

"We're going home," Ryou said shortly.

"What…like for good?" Ron asked, looking rather dumbfounded. Ryou gave him a withering look, which was more suited for his yami than him, but hey, he was stressed.

"Yes Ron, for good."

"Why? What happened?" Harry asked.

"Trouble at home," Yugi said, his tone indicating that neither of them wanted to talk about it. Harry opened his mouth to ask more, and a surprised looking Seamus, Neville and Dean were also looking over in interest. However at this point, Malik reappeared.

"Bad news guys. Big sister said all the direct flights were fully books," he reported. "We're on the six forty flight out of London Heathrow to Charles de Gaulle…"

"That airport is in Paris!" Yugi spluttered.

"Sorry Yugi this is the quickest way that's still not fully booked," Malik said. "As it is, we'll be cutting it close check in wise. We get in at nine o clock…"

"What happened?" Ron tried to get back into the conversation. "Why are you all going home suddenly?"

"…then our connecting flight is the eleven fifty to Narita," Malik continued as though he had not heard a word. "We get in about seven in the evening local time, plus an hours drive to Domino…if everything is running on time of course…"

There was a burst of flame, which caused everyone to jump back, except for Harry and Ron who had seen this before. From the middle of the flames appeared a small piece of parchment, which Harry seized before anyone else could move.

"It's from Dumbledore," he said. "He's organising a Portkey to take you all to Heathrow."

"They're not safe though are they?" Ryou pointed out.

"They're safer if they're illegal," Harry pointed out. "Harder to trace."

"Right seriously," Ron butted in impatiently. "What is going on?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Malik asked, throwing the bag of floo powder into his trunk and starting on his own packing. "We're leaving."

"Yeah we got that," Harry said. "What happened though?"

"We've already said," Malik replied. "It's none of your business."

"You're our friends of course it's our business," Ron interrupted.

"Oh I'm sorry," Bakura said sarcastically, but of course only Yugi, Malik, Ron and Harry realised they were speaking to the thief. "Of _course_ you're our friends. Three weeks of silence don't mean anything to _friends_ now do they?"

He sounded so scornful that it chilled everyone in the room to the core, even those who knew nothing of the reason for the argument.

"We are still friends," Ron said firmly. "We just don't trust a few of you…"

"Yes Ron," Ryou was back in control now. "But what you failed to realise is that you can't just exclude two of us like that. And you shouldn't judge people based on their pasts! Now if you will excuse us, we have a long trip tomorrow and we'd like some sleep."

He threw the last of his belongings into his trunk (being the tidier of the three, and the fact that he had started before the other two, it was no surprise he was finished first) and headed for bed, taking a flask of dreamless sleep potion off the nightstand almost out of reflex. Malik saw this and yanked it out of his grasp.

"What are you doing?" Ryou asked wearily.

"We have a five AM check in," Malik reminded him. "That means we need to be awake at four. That's six hours from now. Dreamless sleep potions knock you out for at least nine. We can't afford to miss these flights."

All three of them knew that by afford, he wasn't just talking monetary value – every second they were away from Domino was another second that Voldemort could be attacking.

"You have a point," Yugi said, pushing his own flask away. Ryou was despairing at the thought of a nightmare-plagued sleep, but he did the same. Malik nodded and, getting tired of packing, waved his wand. For once his magic chose to co-operate and all his belongings landed haphazardly into his trunk. He sat on the lid to help it close before heading for the door

"I'm going to tell Dumbledore when our flight leaves," he said. "…and maybe apologise for running out."

"Okay. See you in the morning," Ryou said, as Yugi waved his wand over their beds, casting a charm that worked as a magical alarm clock, but one that did not wake up the other occupants of the room too. Malik closed the door behind him, just as Yugi finished. Ryou had already pulled the hangings shut on his own bed. Yugi made to do the same, but stopped for a second and turned back to their still staring dorm mates.

"We're sorry guys. We'll miss you. We just…have to go. We can't explain."

"Yugi…" Harry began again, trying to get the smaller boy to talk to them, but Yugi had already pulled the hangings closed, blocking his face from their sight.

OOO

"Is it true?"

Malik leaped a foot in the air and spun around to find Draco Malfoy standing in the corridor.

"What the hell are you doing up?" Malik asked, trying not to show just how caught off guard he had been. Malfoy shrugged.

"I had detention with McGonagall for hexing Nott in class. The Bloody Baron told me he saw your friends out here not long ago crying and saying that you were leaving. Is it true?"

Malik sighed heavily, but nodded. "It's true."

"Oh…" Malfoy seemed a little disappointed, but he covered it up very quickly. "Let me guess. The Dark Lord caught up with you?"

Malik nodded glumly. Malfoy looked thoughtful.

"Must be nice," he said, and continued when Malik jerked his head up. "Having people you care about enough to fly to the other side of the world for."

Malik honestly did not know what to say to that. He had not spoken to Malfoy since the Slytherin's little breakdown in the bathrooms three weeks ago. He knew the Penalty Game had given Malfoy a new outlook on life (more so if he had indeed been in detention for hexing a fellow Slytherin), but it was still rather bizarre to see him caring.

"I'll…miss you," it sounded like Malfoy had really had to think hard to get those words out, and Malik guessed that they were foreign to him. "It's been…interesting having you guys here. And…I guess I wanted to say…thanks Malik."

Now Malik was confused again.

"For what?"

"What you said to me in the bathroom," Malfoy explained. "It really made sense. And the Penalty Game…I don't know how I would be acting if the Pharaoh hadn't done that to me…well, I do. I'd still be acting like an idiot. So I really owe you guys a lot…"

"Okay…" Malik said, sensing again that this was something that Malfoy was not used to. The fact that he had offered thanks really was enough. "Its cool I guess. I'm glad you're happier now…you are aren't you?"

Malfoy nodded.

"I'll be seeing you around then," Malik said, heading off down the corridor, feeling just a little better. At least they weren't arguing with everyone in the castle…

"Ma…Draco?"

The Slytherin stopped and turned around with a questioning look on his face.

"Yeah?"

"Can you give a message to Harry, Ron and Hermione for me…well, us?" Malik asked. Malfoy frowned.

"They don't talk to me Malik, you know that."

"Yeah I know," Malik nodded. "But just give them this message. Please? I don't want to talk to them again tonight and we won't see them tomorrow. So can you tell them?"

Malfoy still looked unsure, but he sighed and nodded none the less. Malik smiled slightly.

"Just tell them that…we forgive them."

OOO

Behind his curtains, Yugi pulled open the golden box, his fingers tracing the familiar patterns of the hieroglyphs and the Eye of Horus on the front as he removed the lid. He flicked through his spare cards, coming to one of the cards at the bottom. It was one of the most special cards he owned. Upon it, it held the image of the three glowing swords, behind which were the three Legendary Dragons.

It was the Legend of Heart spell card that Pegasus had given him the previous year in their first battle against the Orichalcos.

Yugi stared at it. One of the dragons was defeated, but the war was not over. They would keep fighting until they had regained everything that the Orichalcos had taken from them. Just as he had when Grandpa had been admitted to hospital after Death T, and when Pegasus had stolen his soul, Yugi adopted the same prayer he had used then, and recited it again.

"Wait for me Joey…wait for all of us."

OOO

"Rise my servant," the Dark Lord hissed. The petite form stood slowly, eyes dull and lifeless. The taller figure smirked. He always loved the feeling of control that came with the Imperius curse, and the power of the Orichalcos only strengthened this power. It was like a drug, a rush of satisfaction through his veins, knowing that this person could be bent to his will. That he could do whatever he wanted…only killing brought the same kind of high, life winking out of existence with a simple wand movement, as fragile as a leaf breeze. Mortals were pathetic.

Voldemort was no such mortal. He was prolonging his life, extending it with the magic of the Orichalcos. For this ancient power provided him with the ability for immortality…his life long dream. In his eyes there was no greater power. This magic had granted him many gifts. No one had greater control over the human soul than he did. And there was another problem that he had been able to overcome with its help.

The twin cores – a fact of which he had been blissfully ignorant until the unfortunate events after his rebirth, when Potter had escaped him once more. Defeating Harry Potter was a personal challenge, which Voldemort felt he was capable of – indeed with this new magic, there was no chance of the boy escaping, especially after the adjustments he had made to his own magic.

The Orichalcos flowed through his veins, but was still a separate entity from his own wizard magic – a weaker brand in Voldemort's opinion, but none the less a useful brand. However the constant exposure to the new form of power had had a drastic effect on the Dark Lord's wand. Voldemort could see it now, the way the wood seemed to ooze death in a way it never had before. He was certain, with this power coursing through it, even Potter's brother wand would not be able to stand up to it.

He drew his thoughts away from Potter. He had another agenda right now.

"Have the bearers left Hogwarts yet?"

"Yes Master," the servant replied, their voice devoid of emotion. His control was flawless.

"Excellent," he whispered. "Continue to monitor the school and make sure the stones are not discovered. Don't let anyone see you. I will not have suspicion aroused now, not when I am so close."

The figure bowed before backing out of the room. Out of the four Death Eaters who still possessed fragments of Orichalcum, only three were present. Snape had remained at the school in order to keep up appearances. The three remaining Death Eaters closed in around their Master as the mind puppet left.

"My Death Eaters," Voldemort breathed. "The time has come. Hogwarts' protectors have left. The school is weak with anger, fear and despair. We, and our loyal soldiers of the Orichalcos shall attack…"

OOO

The three beds were deserted when Harry and Ron awoke the next morning, the areas around them completely stripped of possessions. It was like there had never been anyone sleeping there.

Hermione was distressed when she heard the news, and she immediately felt bad for being so cold to them, and the mood among the friends plummeted further.

"Yeah but remember Hermione," Ron said on their way to their first lesson. "They were keeping stuff from us. And…well, the Pharaoh and Malik did kinda…kill people."

"Yes yes I know!" Hermione said, still looking upset. "But something really horrible must have happened to force them to go home! And we didn't make their lives any easier…"

In the back of his mind, Harry knew it was probably the Orichalcos stones making them feel so bad about this, but he was too busy focusing on Hermione's words. They were very true – something horrible must have happened, and he bet it had something to do with the way they had rushed out of the dormitory in the middle of the night a couple of days ago. He thought again and again about what they had learned in the visions from the Orichalcos…and to his shock he realised something important.

He didn't care anymore.

"They were good people," Harry said slowly. "We just refused to see it. Those visions and all these stones – no wonder we didn't chose to see the good in them. We didn't want to."

"And now they've gone home and they still think we hate them," Hermione said, still sounding tearful. "We drove them away because we didn't understand…"

She looked so upset that Ron tentatively put an arm around her shoulder as they walked.

"I suppose," he muttered. "If they were really dangerous I guess they would have done something over the last year to us…now I do feel bad for ignoring them."

And once again, the guilt took over.

OOO

It was lunchtime before something appeared to distract Harry from his dark thoughts. Just before the end of the lesson, a note had bounced on his head requesting a meeting in the Trophy room. Harry couldn't help but feel nervous, and of course Ron and Hermione had insisted on not letting him go alone. So rather than head immediately to the Great Hall, they found themselves on the third floor in amongst the gleaming school awards.

"Are you sure it said lunch time?" Ron asked, as his stomach gave a loud rumble.

"See for yourself," Harry said, pulling the note out and handing it to his friend. Ron had barely taken it from him however, when the door at the end of the room opened and Draco Malfoy slunk into the room as though he were trying his best to be invisible.

"What are you doing here Malfoy?" Ron asked rudely, as soon as he spotted the Slytherin. To their amazement, Malfoy didn't retort – and it occurred to Harry that he had never seen the other boy look so uncomfortable or out of place – the fact that Crabbe and Goyle were missing from the picture also contributed to this.

"I have a message for you three," Malfoy said quickly, clearly wanting this meeting to be over with as soon as possible. Ron, who had opened his mouth to form an insult, stopped suddenly and snorted disbelievingly instead.

"You? Have a message for us?"

"From Ishtar."

"Malik?" for the second time in the last thirty seconds, Harry was surprised. What could Malik have to say to them that he hadn't said last night. And what could he have to say that he had to say it through _Malfoy _of all people?

"Malik gave you a message for us?" Hermione asked, frowning in confusion. "When?"

"Last night," Malfoy said. "I ran into him when he was leaving Dumbledore's office…he said "_we forgive you_"."

It was only three words, but it stunned all three Gryffindor's into silence. The guilt reared its head again…but it was less painful than before, like those words had healed it slightly. Even with Orichalcos induced negativity, none of them doubted that the message was genuine, even considering who the messenger was. Hermione covered her mouth, tears filling her eyes for the millionth time that day. Ron was opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish on land, clearly devoid of anything to say to that. Harry's thoughts were racing. Yugi, Ryou and Malik had known exactly what to say. How?

"_Because they knew," _Harry thought. "_They knew how we felt, and how the Orichalcos was making it worse, and they knew we'd regret what we had said…they really understood."_

"Erm…I'll be going now…" Malfoy sounded even more uncomfortable than he had before, and he quickly hurried to the door.

"Yeah…thanks Malfoy…" the words were out of Harry's mouth before registered what they were and who he was saying them to…but the scary thing was, he didn't want to take them back.

And strangely enough, with that message, the castle seemed a little more brighter.

OOO

The first couple of days back in Domino were strange. While it was a huge relief to be away from the oppressive nature of the Orichalcos, being away from Domino for so long had changed the Item bearers more than they had realised. They had seen things in the last eight months that had marked them and changed the way they saw the world. They had been fighting against an evil, which they had thought long gone, and to no avail.

Then of course there was the gaping hole where Joey usually was that could not be filled. Everyone in the gang was miserable, and this had been evident when they had met up with Yugi, Ryou and Malik at the airport the day they returned. Tea had burst into tears and thrown herself on Yugi the moment she had seen him, while Tristan was trying to remain positive, but it was clear from the look on his face he was angry that his best friend had been rendered soulless. Surprisingly, Kaiba had also been present at the airport, and as soon as they were in the limo, he had pulled Yugi off to one side of it, away from everyone else. Yugi had not known what to expect, and was surprised when Seto had uncomfortably begun to speak.

"I don't like having debts," he had said shortly. "Wheeler asked me to give you this just before the Orichalcos got him. He gave up the last of his life points to save mine. I owed him this one request."

And he had handed a stunned Yugi the Claw of Hermos, before pulling open his laptop to indicate that the conversation was over. Yugi had uttered a 'thank you' before scooting away, the card still clutched in his numb fingers. And once again, the grief had reared its head again. But this time he had no more tears. He had shed them all the night they had discovered Joey's fate. Yugi, like the rest of them, now clung to the belief that they would get Joey back.

How they were going to do that however, was a matter that none of them had thought through.

OOO

"It doesn't feel good does it guys?" Malik asked one morning, three days after Joey had been sealed. From his place on the floor he looked at the other Item bearers. Yugi was slouching on the end of the sofa, with Tea spread out next to him gracefully. Tristan lounged against the wall, silent and watchful (he had been a lot quieter since Joey had been sealed), while Ryou was sitting in an armchair, bending over the coffee table. Yami and Bakura were of course standing in spirit form next to their lights. The gang had gathered at the Ishtars house, as it was the closest to Domino City Hospital, in preparation for visiting Joey in an hour's time. Serenity and Mai had not left the hospital since Joey had been admitted, "visiting hours be damned" as Mai had eloquently shouted at one of the doctors the evening they had arrived.

"No it doesn't," Yugi agreed. "It feels darker. I know we're away from the Orichalcos now, but it feels like its reach has spread even further…"

"It's gathering power," Ryou muttered as he laid out his duel monsters deck on the table and began to do a tarot reading. "Slowly expanding across the globe…Dark Master – Zorc. A dark force shall arise…Destiny Board, reversed. Fate is being manipulated. Spirit Illusion reversed…what could that mean…?"

He seemed caught up in his own little world, so no one disturbed him. Ishizu slipped into the room at this point, noticing the group's sombre looks.

"Have faith everyone," she said, catching their attention with her calm and authoritive voice. "Where there is evil there is also good. Things do not remain dark for very long."

Everyone took a small amount of comfort from Ishizu. Even without the Millennium Necklace, she had a strong, sometimes supernatural sense of what people were thinking, and how events would turn out. It wasn't true prophecy, but Ishizu knew enough about human nature to see certain things. And right now, she knew that the bearers and their friends sensed the darkness, and were preparing themselves to fight against it.

In the armchair, Ryou nervously fingered his deck. He had flipped over six cards of the reading, and his hand was paused over the seventh – the one that would depict the final judgement. So far he had done this reading three times, each time drawing the same cards, and the same conclusions…

He picked up the seventh card and settled back into the chair, bringing it close to his face, fixated on the card image.

Dark Sanctuary.

As it had been all those months ago when he had read the cards at Hogwarts, it seemed the final judgement was getting closer…he could feel it as clearly as he felt himself breathing…

A vision flashed across his vision and he gasped…

_The magic bombarded everything in its path…the school…the monsters…the Death Eaters…and the students. Pain shredded every other feeling as it exploded through everyone's senses. From the lake, a terrifying creature shrieked…in the air, the shadows cried…and on the ground, the bearers screamed…_

Ryou hastily gathered the cards and shuffled them, the repetitive motion doing little to sooth his racing heart.

The Darkness was coming…soon it would have them.

OOO

Half way around the world, darkness had fallen upon Britain…but around Hogwarts, it was not the comforting darkness of night that blanketed the land…but the darkness that radiated pure evil.

A couple of the students had seen the approaching army crossing the boundary and lumbering towards the school. Creatures the likes of which had never been seen were marching over the grounds, roughly a hundred in total. Gruesome monsters, with muscular bodies, huge arms with chains on the end, and tiny heads, which seemed to reflect their brainpower.

However those few students had little time to warn people of the approaching armada, and consequently the first most people knew of the attack was when the first few Orichalcos Gigas began punching away stupidly at the wall of the school. The students were quick however to try driving them back, blasting them with spells, causing them to blow into shattered fragments.

However not thirty seconds later, they returned in another wave, clawing their way out of the ground like some kind of horror movie creature, and the assault had begun again.

That had been two hours ago. The castle had been properly barricaded and all defensive measures enacted. The younger students were evacuated out of the school passages, leaving only the teachers, the students of the sixth and seventh years and the DA members who had furiously refused to leave, to stay and defend the castle from the army.

Groups had been divided up, with the bulk of the teachers and seventh years staying on the ground at the entrances, waiting to be moved if the castle was breached. Meanwhile, groups of about seven sixth years were at various towers, continuing to blast the Orichalcos Gigas back from the walls.

Albus Dumbledore stood in the Entrance Hall with a group of seventh years and Minerva McGonagall, all whom looked incredibly grim as they listened to the angry roars of the creatures outside, occasionally punctuated by a rumble as one of them attempted to strike the walls of the castle.

Dumbledore was prepared to defend the school – indeed he would be prepared to lay down his life for this school and the children inside. But he could not help but feel that there was more to this attack than simply trying to breach Hogwarts. If Voldemort wanted that, he could just storm the place with Death Eaters. Why use these creatures, which so far, they were holding off with little struggle?

There was something else at work here, and he didn't like it.

OOO

Deep beneath the Earth's surface, a great power was stirring…

It had been reawakened a long time ago…and now its rebirth was near…the stones were in place, the pawn of the great magic that fuelled the creature's existence had ensured that only the strong souls would remain in the castle…made all the stronger by the fear and anger as they defended their school and home.

Its rebirth would be triggered soon. All it had to do was wait a little bit longer…

OOO

Another bellowing roar shook the school. A few girls screamed, and even a few of the older students quaked in fear.

So far the monsters had yet to penetrate the castle walls, the protective enchantments were keeping them out, helped along by the people leaning out of windows or over the edges of the highest towers, protecting the school against those that would dare try and harm it. The attacking army of monsters were shattering as they were struck by spells from the students in the towers.

The Gryffindor Tower was no exception.

Sixth year Gryffindors darted back and forth between the windows, keeping an eye on the creatures below. Though they were holding out at the moment, the undercurrent of tension that had been there since the alarm had been raised was rising, as each time an Orichalcos Gigas was defeated, it got back up not a minute later, bigger and nastier looking. Most of them were now at least four times the size they had been when they had first appeared.

Ron, ever the strategist, had been first to notice just how dire the situation truly was.

"Its okay for those ugly things," he said to Harry and Hermione, as they stood at one of the windows of the tower. "They aren't getting tired. But we are. And sooner or later they're going to be too big for us to destroy any more…"

He sighed glumly. Harry had to agree that the same thought had been bothering him ever since they had realised that the Gigas weren't staying down. The soldiers would get stronger, and eventually the school wouldn't be able to keep them out any longer. But destroying them was all they could do, and no one knew how to permanently beat these monsters.

No one in the castle at least…

"We need to find them," Harry said darkly to his two best friends. "They're the only ones that can help us now."

Neither Ron nor Hermione needed to ask who 'they' referred too.

"Hate to break it to you mate," Ron said, as they backed away from the window of the Gryffindor tower, to leave the rest of the group to defend against the Orichalcos Gigas on the grounds below. "But they're all the way in Japan. And who's to say they'll help us anyway?"

"They will," Hermione said firmly. "They care about us. I know it. Remember Malfoy's message?"

Harry did remember. Indeed he didn't think he would ever forget it. After everything that had happened, they had forgiven them for the way they had acted. It still seemed surreal.

Harry knew that they had messed up big time with the transfers…maybe this was a chance to help set things right.

"We can floo to Malik's house," Hermione was suggesting. "I've still got their addresses on that parchment Yugi gave us at Christmas."

"I thought the network was sealed when the castle was attacked?" Ron asked.

"Not to current students," Hermione said. "The castles defences let students of the school in and out via the network, but they don't let anyone else in. It's a security measure."

Ron still looked sceptical, but nodded.

"Okay," he said. "We're holding off pretty well right now I'd say. The only problem we're having is that these monsters won't die. If they move Death Eaters in however we could be in trouble."

"Let's go get them before that happens then," Harry said, looking around the room as Hermione took the pot of floo powder off the shelf. "Neville!"

The boy being called hurried up to them, took one look at the floo powder, and his face creased into a frown.

"Are you three going somewhere?" he asked.

"We're going to get Yugi, Ryou and Malik," Harry said. "We think they might know something about how to kill these monsters…permanently."

Neville's face cleared up slightly. "Okay. Be careful though. And make sure you come back!"

"We need you to do something," Harry told him. "If things get worse, or if Death Eaters show up or something like that, you're in charge of the DA members until we get back."

Neville looked surprised at his sudden responsibility, but his face radiated determination none the less. "I won't let you guys down."

"Thanks," Harry said, before turning to his friends and letting Neville go back to the windows. "Let's go guys."

OOO

"We should get going," Malik said, glancing at the clock on the wall. No one in the Ishtar's living room spoke, instead they all stood as one and prepared to leave…until the fireplace suddenly burst into life, filling with green flames which flickered and danced on the walls. Everyone jumped backward, save for Yugi, Ryou and Malik, who approached with narrowed eyes.

"No one lit a fire did they?" Yugi asked, urgently.

"No," Ryou shook his head. "Someone is trying to floo us…"

"I knew connecting to the floo network was a bad idea…" Malik muttered. Ishizu bolted back into the room with Odion right behind her, and everyone backed away from the fireplace as a figure span into view and tumbled out onto the floor.

"Harry?" Yugi asked in astonishment. He didn't have long to be astonished however as Hermione fell out of the fireplace next to him, followed by Ron, who managed to stay on his feet.

"What are you guys doing here?" Yugi asked, realising too late of course, that he could not speak English without his language patch. Malik however had pulled out his wand and the Rod, while Ryou was advancing cautiously forward.

"We don't know if it's them," he reminded his friends before turning and speaking to the Hogwarts students in English.

"By what names did we refer to ourselves in our notes in Defence Against the Dark Arts class?"

"King of Games, Change of Heart and Tomb Keeper," Harry rattled off.

"Oh and Pharaoh and Tomb Robber," Ron added quickly. Ryou sighed and lowered his wand.

"It's them," he assured everyone, before changing back to English. "Why are you guys here?"

"Hogwarts is under attack," Hermione explained quickly. Ryou's eyes widened, and he brushed off Yugi who was tugging at his sleeve, asking for a translation.

"This is silly," Malik shook his head. "I'm going to get my language patch."

"What happened?" Ryou asked, leading them all over to the sofas. Tea, Tristan, Ishizu and Odion, who had until now stayed out of this, sat down too. Yugi stood nearby, Yami fazing out next to him.

"These monsters with the Seal on their foreheads," Ron explained. "They just appeared outside the boundaries and started making their way towards the castle. We've been holding them off but each time we blast them they just come back…"

"Orichalcos Gigas," Ryou said, remembering the beasts that they had barely fought off at the Game Shop over Easter. "We've seen those before. You can't destroy them by regular means…"

"What's this about Orichalcos Gigas?" Malik asked, reappearing with his patch on, and handing another to Yugi, who took it frowning.

"Where did you get another patch?" Yugi asked.

"I didn't," Malik said. "That one is yours. I summoned it from your house."

Yugi was about to berate Malik for what was probably a severe breach of the Statue of Secrecy, but he shook his head as Harry began talking again, explaining the situation in its entirety.

"We need to know how to beat those things," he finished. "So far we're keeping them back from the walls, but they're getting stronger, and we won't be able to hold them off forever."

Yugi, Ryou and Malik exchanged looks. They knew that defeating those monsters was neigh on impossible. The only reason they had been able to do so last time was because Solomon had summoned Exodia. Standing next to his hikari, Yami was frowning, trying to figure out a way they could help Hogwarts out of such a dire situation. Bakura however, was not as quiet, and a second later; he was in control of Ryou's body.

"So after weeks of shutting us out, and being completely unwilling to accept us," the thief spat, causing everyone, particularly Harry Ron and Hermione, to jump. "You've just decided to come crawling over here begging for help? Suddenly, now you need us now that we've become useful to you…"

"Bakura…" Yami took over Yugi's body and growled out a warning.

"Hush Pharaoh!" Bakura barked, before rounding back on the Gryffindors. He became progressively louder and angrier the longer he went on for.

"You think that after all the shit you said to us, that you can just swoop in here and demand our help? You all think pretty highly of yourselves if you even think for a second that we come to aid at your every beck and call!"

"What are you saying?!" Yugi exploded, taking control back in his emotional outburst. "That we don't help them?!"

"I'm saying that these three need to think very long and hard about what they're doing here!" Bakura snarled. "They fucked us over, right when we needed support the most! And now they come crawling back with their tails between their legs because we're their only means of protection! They'd use us as a shield against their enemy!"

"That's not what we want to do!" Hermione argued shrilly. "We thought you'd want to help us! Isn't that what you want to do? Stop Voldemort and whatever he's planning?!"

"The Orichalcos is our problem girl!" Bakura raged. "Voldemort is a wizard's problem. And no matter what people say, we are not wizards. We have our own magic, our own enemies and our own fucking way of doing things! We came to Hogwarts out of the goodness of our hearts! We didn't like the idea of being hidden behind, but we still came! And as soon as you three found something about us that you couldn't understand or accept, you abandoned us. And now you want us to come back there and fight your battle for you? You have some fucking balls!"

He ended his rant, with a rather loud "fuck" thrown in just for good measure, before throwing himself back onto the sofa and letting Ryou have control. The albino blushed heavily.

"Sorry about him," he muttered.

"He has every right to be mad," Harry said, looking up uncertainly at the Japanese teenagers. "We know we didn't handle your…situation well…"

//_Can we spell 'understatement'?_// Bakura's sarcastic voice asked. Ryou immediately shushed him.

"But we were hoping," Harry continued. "That you might help us…if not because we were – because we _are _friends, then because of everyone else in the school."

And there were the magic words. Yugi, Ryou and Malik exchanged looks, though they knew the answer. They would never turn away from people in danger…even if these people had complicated their lives, and turned away from them when they had found out their secrets. As Malik had told Malfoy, they forgave them.

"We'll come and help," Yugi said, and Harry, Ron and Hermione looked relieved.

"Thanks guys," Harry said, and he was genuinely grateful.

As if it had been waiting for their agreement, the fireplace suddenly burst into life again, and everyone jumped up from where they were sitting. Ishizu, who had been translating for those people in the room who did not speak English, approached it cautiously as the flames died down. An envelope was left in the empty grate.

"Be careful sister," Malik warned in Arabic. Ishizu nodded, before gently picking up the envelope by one of the corners. When nothing dangerous happened, she straightened up with it in her hands, and opened it. A piece of parchment, and two cards fell out…

Two used copies of the Seal of Orichalcos.

One was Shadi, who even behind the Seal retained the passive mask on his face that had often been a source of annoyance to all who knew him.

And in the other Seal, was Joey.

Yugi backed away as Ishizu held the cards up with a grim expression on her face. Seeing Joey trapped in the Seal, was something he never wanted to see again. Yami took over at this point, his eyes narrowed into crimson glares.

"What does the letter say?" he asked. Ishizu opened it and scanned the lines, her eyes also narrowing the further she read.

"It's…an invitation of sorts," she said in English, since all but two people there spoke it. "_Come to the resting place of the Items, and I shall give you a chance to save their souls…_"

"Kul Elna," Bakura hissed out, causing everyone to jump again at the venom in his voice. "The resting place of the Items…the tomb Shadi guards is Kul Elna. That is where the Millennium Stone lies. That must be where he means."

"He also requests that along with the three Item bearers," Ishizu continued. "That the last chosen duellist be present…"

"He wants us to bring the Priest along too?!" Bakura spat. "Fat chance!"

"We may need his help," Yami argued back quickly. "Ishizu…"

He did not even need to ask. Ishizu had already picked up the phone and begun dialling the number for Kaiba Corp.

"So…wait," Hermione said, struggling to follow this. "Voldemort is waiting at Kul Elna? Isn't that where…"

She was cut off as Ryou took over and shook his head urgently, warning her not to bring up his Yami's past again. Bakura grumbled in spirit form a little, but fell silent quickly.

"Seems like it," Yami said. "He's finally decided to bring the game to a conclusion."

"What about Hogwarts?" Ron asked, drawing attention to the reason they were there in the first place.

"You said the school was holding its defences for now, right?" Malik asked. The three Gryffindors nodded.

"Then it will be fine for now," Yami stated. "And if we can stop Voldemort at Kul Elna, the Orichalcos Gigas will vanish too."

"Kaiba is on his way," Ishizu announced from the telephone. "I had to twist his arm, but he agreed."

"How did you do that sis?" Malik asked. At this, Ishizu gave an almost devious smirk.

"I have friends in high places too, little brother…"

OOO

//_I'm not happy about this_// Bakura thought. He was pacing the room, invisible to everyone bar the Item bearers (and Ishizu, who kept shooting the valuables in the room looks, as though she expected them to vanish into the Thief King's pocket at any second).

Ryou was tempted to retort that Bakura was rarely happy about anything. He bit his tongue however and tried a different approach.

/_Voldemort's Orichalcos Gigas will kill everyone in that school if they get in. Do you want to see another massacre?_/

That shut Bakura right up.

//_Still…I don't see why we have to bring _him _along…_//

Ryou's eyes trailed over to where Yami was briefing an irritated looking Kaiba. The CEO was the _him_ Bakura was referring to.

That Kaiba wanted to come and get even with the man who had messed with him, his company and more importantly, his little brother, was no surprise to Yugi or Yami…it was just convincing him that they did indeed have a lead and that despite being magical in nature it was not a waste of Kaiba's time that was the problem.

"I am not swallowing any more of your delusions," Kaiba argued against the Pharaoh. "Not unless I see proof…"

Yami, resisting the urge to do a Joey and just hit the CEO, thrust the letter at him. Kaiba snatched it up and began skim reading.

"They sent us this," Yami thought he'd best refrain from mentioning just how the note had arrived. Kaiba would be sceptical enough once he read the word 'Items'. Sure enough, his sapphire gaze narrowed further and further the more he read.

"…And this 'location'," he said in a dry voice that screamed disbelief.

"Egypt," Bakura answered for Yami. "More specifically, near Luxor."

"You must be joking," Kaiba snorted.

"I don't joke Kaiba," Bakura snarled.

"Kaiba we need you with us," Yami said. "There's no telling what Voldemort might have in store for us, and besides, he wants all the bearers and the Legendary Dragons – that includes you."

"I don't know what kind of an idiot you take me for," Kaiba said. "But this is clearly a trap, and I have better things to do than go flying half way around the world."

"Look, do what you want Priest," Bakura spat, incredibly impatient by this point. "But we are going to Egypt. If you want to get even with the scum who messed with you and your brother, than you can follow us as long as you don't get in our way! If you're too much of a coward however, you can stay here!"

That got Seto right where it hurt him the most. He inflated.

"I am no coward!" he growled. And without another word, he turned and stood stiffly against the wall, sending off a clear message that he did _not_ want to be disturbed.

On the sofa, Harry, Ron and Hermione were watching this with wide eyes. Though they had not understood a word, as the conversation had been in Japanese, they could tell that Kaiba was far from happy about coming.

"Pardon him," Ishizu muttered to them in perfect unaccented English. "He has very little patience for the supernatural."

Malik, who had flung himself into the sofa next to them, nodded in agreement. He had just got back from calling the hospital to give Mai and Serenity an update, and to see Tea and Tristan off. They would not be much use going with them to Egypt as none of them had magic, so they would to stay behind with Joey. Both had protested, wanting to be at their friend's sides, but Yugi had argued furiously that Joey needed people beside him too.

"_It's for the best," _Malik thought. "_We don't want them hurt. And Voldemort and his Death Eaters are capable of far worse torture than anything they've been through before…"_

"Malfoy gave us your message…" Harry said abruptly. Malik snapped out of his train of thought and focused on them.

"Did he?" He was slightly surprised. A part of him hadn't expected the Slytherin to keep his word. But then again, he supposed he should have more faith. After all, Penalty Games were a powerful force.

"Yeah…but, we don't understand," Hermione continued. "Why? How can you forgive us for those things we said?"

"Because that's what friends do," Malik said. "They forgive each other…"

"Even after the mess we made?" Ron asked. Malik sighed and looked at everyone else in the room.

"I almost killed the people in this room," he said bluntly, "Not my darker half," he interrupted as Harry opened his mouth. "Me. During Battle City I spent most of my time trying to kill Yugi just to get revenge for my father, and for the life I had in the Tombs. I didn't care who got hurt. I mind controlled Joey and Tea. I used Ryou and Bakura to my own ends. Eventually Odion wound up in a coma because of my selfishness…my own brother."

He trailed off looking remorseful, before pulling himself together and continuing.

"Then Marik took over, and I realised what a mistake I'd made. I vowed to make up for everything I had done. I didn't expect them to forgive me – I expected them all to hate me. But they didn't. They forgave me, and accepted me as a friend. Because that's what they do." He gestured to the room again. "They see the best in people, even if that person can't see it themselves. Everyone makes mistakes. It's what makes us human."

It was a very profound statement, and left the three Gryffindors in surprise. Malik however, got up and headed to the fireplace, deciding that they needed to make a move. Ishizu, who had been listening to the conversation silently, smiled proudly at her sibling's back.

"We need to get moving," Malik announced, throwing a handful of green powder into the fireplace, causing emerald flames to rise up. "Ron, you've been to Egypt before, where in Luxor are we heading?"

"Erm…" Ron thought for a bit, before rattling off a few words in rough broken Arabic. Malik snorted with laughter.

"Come again?" Bakura asked, having not understood the language at all.

"The Jinxed Mongoose," Malik translated. "Is that seriously what it's called?"

"It's a café in Luxor," Ron explained. "Its like the Leaky Cauldron, it's the gateway to most of the wizard shops in Egypt."

"Right then," Malik said, stepping into the fire. He turned to look quickly at Ishizu and Odion.

"Will you two be…?"

"We'll be fine Malik," Ishizu said calmly. "We'll keep the fire going until you get back, in case you need to return."

It was good enough for Malik, and he took a deep breath and said loudly and clearly "The Jinxed Mongoose!" In a rush of flames, he was gone.

Yami, who was watching Kaiba intently, was disappointed to see that the mask did not shift, but he did catch the slight hint of surprise in the sapphire eyes, which was the only indication that the CEO gave that something spectacular had just occurred. He quickly snorted.

"Please, I didn't come here to watch cheap pyrotechnics…"

Bakura gave roll of his eyes, and lashed out, kicking the CEO firmly in the back. Caught off guard, Kaiba managed to regain his balance, but he was already in the fireplace with Bakura right behind him. The thief barked the name of their destination and the two vanished from sight.

"You three go next. I shall follow," Yami said. Harry nodded, and got up first. The familiar warmth of the flames was a small amount of comfort to the nerves in his stomach.

"The Jinxed Mongoose!"

He vanished, followed shortly by Ron and Hermione. Yami turned to Ishizu and Odion.

"Thank you," he said solemnly. Ishizu bowed.

"Ra go with you my Pharaoh."

Yami was grateful, for he felt, as he spoke the destination, that they would need all the help they could get.

OOO

The Jinxed Mongoose was a small, enclosed café, where the waiters and waitresses circled the circular tables, serving rich Turkish coffee and plates of umm ali to the willing patrons. It was Luxor's equivalent to the Leaky Cauldron. The stairs to the lower cellar, led to an old network of underground tunnels, in which lived the thriving Egyptian magical shops. The two fireplaces in the café burst into life occasionally, bringing more wizards and witches, most dressed in traditional Arabic clothing. Outside, the tourist city of Luxor was picking up in activity as it approached midnight.

It was from one of these fireplaces, that Malik burst forth. He brushed the cobwebs off him, and hurried out of the way, as Kaiba came crashing into the room, his normally pristine white trench coat covered in soot. Malik fought down a laugh, and began smoothing things over with the eagle eye headwaiter in rapid Arabic.

Bakura came through next, managing to keep his balance, and immediately snorted with laughter at the sight of the CEO beating the soot off his jacket.

"Have a nice trip Kaiba?"

Kaiba growled at him, sounding dangerously like one of his dragons. Bakura had no doubt in his mind that the teen billionaire was already plotting various means of revenge for his little stunt.

Harry, Ron and Hermione came through next, their landing sufficiently more co-ordinated than the rest of the group's had been. They surveyed their surroundings, Ron with recognition, Hermione with awe, and Harry with a critical eye. It definitely wasn't the Leaky Cauldron, but it was okay.

Yugi came through last, having had control of his body handed back to him just before the floo network had sucked him up, and was equally awed as Hermione had been, though for entirely different reasons.

"Egypt," he breathed, feeling the last of the day's warmth linger in the air. In his soul room, a range of feelings and sensations that he had all but forgotten flooded Yami.

"Okay," Malik said, approaching the group. "There's about an hour until the café closes. There's no way we'll make it back before then. So we can stay at my place if we don't get back in time…"

Yugi nodded, knowing that since the Ishtars had stopped living underground, they owned two properties in Egypt, one in Cairo and the other here in Luxor, as Ishizu commuted between the two for work purposes. It was easy to see the underlying message in Malik's words. They might not come back at all.

"The waiter said that there hasn't been any suspicious activity of late – of course I didn't specify what kind of activity I was looking for, so it's not very reliable."

"How are we going to get there?" Ron asked. "We can't exactly walk any kind of distance at this time of night. And we'll never get transportation – it's difficult enough in the day when this place is full of tourists."

"Fool," Bakura hissed. "Kul Elna is a deserted village that few know the location of. We couldn't use modern transport to get there even if we wanted to."

"Do you remember the way?" Harry asked.

"You know nothing," the thief growled. "I cannot tell the direction in a country I have not lived in for five thousand years, even if it was my homeland."

"Then why did you direct us to Luxor specifically if you don't remember where your village is?" Harry asked; liking the sound of this plan less and less the more the thief spoke.

"Because I visited the Valley of the Kings and Queens often enough in my former life that this city makes a good starting point," Bakura said, with an air of explaining the obvious truth to a simpleton. He turned to Malik. "Which direction are the valley's in from here?"

Malik thought for a minute, peering out of the window to get his bearings and pointing off in one direction. "North west across the Nile."

Bakura nodded. "I shall need magical assistance from this point onwards."

Yugi noticed that he fingered his deck as he spoke, and he immediately knew what the thief had in mind.

"We should get outside and find a quiet place to summon," he said.

"Follow me," Malik instructed. The group headed to the exit of the café. The waiter whom Malik had spoken to gave them a smile and called out to them in Arabic, with what Yugi could only assume was a goodbye. Malik replied in kind and they continued their journey outside into the nightlife of Luxor.

As it was not quite tourist season, the streets were less crowded than they could have been, for which everyone was grateful. Yugi recalled from memory that Luxor was a tourist city, and he guessed that this was a relatively quiet time before the long summer in which people from other countries would be flocking to the land of the Pharaohs.

The street was clearly a market street, but obviously at this time of night, everything was packed up. Malik took a quick apprising look and his eyebrows quirked in amusement.

"What's up?" Harry asked. Malik shook his head.

"I recognise this street," he explained. "I've spent the last few years living in this city. I thought I knew it like the back of my hand. But I never noticed that café there, not once."

"That'll be part of the magical enchantments," Hermione immediately answered. "No one can see it unless they know it's there."

"I understand," Malik nodded. "But it's a little strange knowing I probably passed it loads of times and never noticed it."

"How did you ever see this city anyway?" Ron asked, remembering the flashes of the past that they had witnessed in Hogwarts. "I thought your family lived in a tomb?"

Malik's face darkened slightly as they set off down the street. "We did. And as the first-born Ishtar son I was forbidden to go outside. Ishizu didn't have that restriction, and so she took me out one day…that was the day my darker half killed my father…"

"Is there anything on besides sob stories?" Yugi heard Kaiba mutter, and deep in his soul room, Yami gave a growl at the insult to his friend's suffering. Malik fortunately, didn't hear.

"So what happened after that?" Harry asked.

"I was supposed to lead the clan," Malik explained. "But I didn't care about it really. Ishizu was the one who took over managing the families. I started leaving the tomb more and more to explore the city. Just before my fifteenth birthday I left the tomb for good with Odion. Ishizu left too to chase me down. She rose pretty quickly in the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, and so the clan was disbanded."

He neglected to mention that the task of the Tomb Keepers had been fulfilled when Malik had met Yugi and Yami. Now that the Pharaoh had returned, there was no need for them to continue guarding his tomb. All the Tomb Keepers had left to make their own ways in the world and take up their own destinies.

"And do you know where they are now?" Hermione asked. Malik nodded.

"Ishizu keeps in contact with them all…well most of them. There are a couple that we seem to have lost track of…its those ones that we think might have been spilling information to the wizarding world…"

"You mean like in that book we found in the library?" Harry asked. Malik gave a short nod as they turned the corner of the street.

"Down here," the Egyptian boy instructed. Everyone followed him quietly around the back of one of the buildings, shivering a little as the enormity of the situation settled in. Bakura was quick off the mark, the Millennium Ring glowing as Diabound appeared in the shadows.

"The landscape may have changed," he said. "But Diabound and I are connected to that village. We will find it together."

"We need more monsters for all of us," Yugi said, pulling out his own deck. "Come forth, Chimera!"

The mythical beast appeared with a snarl.

"I can take one more," Yugi said, placing a comforting hand on his monsters flank. "Kaiba you'll have to take someone too."

The CEO snorted and it was clear as he looked over Chimera and Diabound that he was thinking "cheap illusions". But his deck did the thinking for him on this occasion, and Kaiba yelped as one of his cards glowed and Blue Eyes appeared, curling up low to the ground as if she realised that she did not want to be seen. Malik raised an eyebrow in surprise and Yugi smiled. Bakura didn't seem to care, and was busy studying the stars and judging the direction they would need to travel.

"Thank you Kaiba," Yugi said.

"I…di…" Kaiba trailed off. "Whatever. Let's just go."

Yugi nodded and hopped onto Chimera's back, pulling Harry on with him. Having established their bearings, Diabound's tail wrapped around Bakura, pulling the thief onto its shoulder. A yelp later and Ron was seated on the other shoulder. Kaiba wearily approached his Blue Eyes, reaching out to touch the smooth scales. The dragon purred like a content kitten. Kaiba was surprised, but at the same time, strangely pleased to hear the comforting sound. A loud snort from Bakura caused him to snap out of his wonder.

"What?" he demanded of the thief. Bakura chuckled.

"You had better get over your disbelief soon, Priest," he said, nodding at Blue Eyes. "She won't thank you for turning a blind eye."

Kaiba growled in his throat like the dragon he stood beside, and he clambered onto his monster, his mind spinning.

"_How did he know she's female?" _he thought.

Looking nervous, Hermione followed Malik, who clambered behind the CEO without invitation. While Malik could have summoned his own dragon, there was less chance of being spotted this way. Blue Eyes grumbled a little at the additional weight, and without thinking, Kaiba rested a hand on her beautiful scales, and she calmed instantly. Watching from Chimera, Yugi could feel Yami smirk.

/_What?_/ he asked, slightly amused.

//_Kaiba remembers_// the Pharaoh smiled. //_He's just too stubborn to admit it_//

OOO

It took two hours to travel to Kul Elna, based off of Bakura and Diabound's directions. It was approximately two am local time when the village came into view. Everyone was shivering the closer they got, and not just because of the cold desert nights. The village radiated dismay and echoed of a gruesome past that had seen the creation of the Millennium Items. It was a cursed settlement.

On Chimera's back, Harry flexed his slightly numb fingers as they approached, trying to get some feeling back into them. As England was two hours behind Luxor, it would be midnight. The attack on Hogwarts had begun about four hours ago…Harry hoped desperately that the school was holding up. Every minute they were up in the air, was a minute spent away when they could be protecting the school…indeed, Harry realised, and the one place he called home.

He rubbed his head as it ached slightly. He reckoned the combination of flying for so long, and the fact that he would normally be sleeping now were starting to take their toll on him, and he resolutely tried to focus on the upcoming village. On his right, he could see Hermione on Blue Eyes and noticed that she looked a little green from the flight. Malik however, was focusing seriously on the village and the task before them.

Chimera and Blue Eyes were the first to touchdown in the village remains. Harry slid onto the ground, thinking for the millionth time that evening just how much he preferred brooms. Hermione dismounted quickly too, looking very pleased to be on the ground, as she was unused to flying full stop, broom or dragon. Harry shook off the ache in his head and studied the village around them.

The buildings were vague shells of their former selves, empty, crippled and blasted by the repeated sandstorms that had attacked over the last five millennia. Kaiba summed it up with a snort.

"What a dump."

"So this is where Shadi hangs out huh?" Malik asked with a shiver. "He just reached a whole new level of creepy…"

Yugi, who had just got off Chimera, had to agree, but he didn't have the time to vocalise this. A feeling of dread was rising. It was not the same as the magical sickness of the Orichalcos. It felt more raw and far more sinister. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

"You feel that?" Malik asked, shivering.

"Yeah…" Yugi nodded. "It feels like…"

He never got any further. Around the buildings, shadowy spirits rose, moaning with a thirst for death and destruction. They had very little visible shape, just clouds with a vague head and body. As one they rushed in a surging tide toward the startled teens, who ducked with their arms over their heads as the spirits swooped at them, colliding with them, unable to physically hurt them, but enough to send chills of fear and sickness through all of them. Blue Eyes and Chimera roared in anger, attempting to attack the spirits, only to fail as their claws and teeth sank right through them.

"What are they?!" Hermione cried out in fear. No one answered, they just kept themselves covered and prayed that they would live through this…

"BE GONE!" roared a furious voice, and immediately the spirits backed off, rushing to greet their long absent master and descendant.

Bakura stood with an unimpressed expression on his face as the spirits gathered, welcoming him back to the village…his village…the one he had sworn to avenge. He shook his head though. He had another purpose for being here today. The spirits vanished one by one.

"Its okay," Bakura informed the cowering group. "They won't be any bother while I'm here."

"What were those things?" Harry asked. Bakura gave him a hard glare.

"My family," he said shortly.

Ron, who had also been cowering behind an impassive Diabound, appeared with a slightly alarmed expression on his face. None the less, he promptly hurried to his friends to check them over, before posing the next question.

"So where do we go now?"

Bakura's face darkened and he quickly recalled Diabound.

"To the chamber where the Items were created," he said, leading the way through the buildings without another word. No one dared question his movement. He knew this village. It was connected to his very soul, and he knew it and the spirits that resided there very well. He knew from the way they were behaving that the village had already been infiltrated, and he knew just where, too.

"Will he be okay?" Harry asked, as they followed, Yugi and Kaiba dismissing their monsters as they went. He could tell Bakura was on edge, and he was not the only one. Hermione was still shaking from the fright with the spirits and Ron had his arm around her for comfort. Harry pinched the bridge of his nose trying to will away his stubborn headache.

"Just don't say anything to tick him off," Malik provided, having overhead the question. "It's bound to be a raw subject."

Bakura led them to the entrance to the village chamber. He didn't break his stride as he entered, but Yugi and Malik could both see his shoulders tense as he descended the stairs. They guessed each step was a bad memory for him – one that he had been reliving a lot recently.

//_We're coming Voldemort_// Yami thought with a hint of a growl in his voice. Yugi nodded mentally, and then in a quiet whisper he recited his prayer once again.

/_Wait for me Joey…_/

OOO

Voldemort felt a ripple of magic echo through his soul. He smirked. The bearers had arrived. He turned his attention away from the battle at Hogwarts, and focused on the village of Kul Elna.

As he had hoped, his link was in place. He had planned for Potter to be there right from the start. After all, there were only three people who knew how to save Hogwarts now. It was obvious that they would go and find the bearers. As soon as they had left, he had delivered his demands – the village, the Items and the Legendary Dragons. And they had answered, like good little pawns.

All the pieces had fallen into place to bring the bearers, and Potter and his friends to him…

It was time to remove them all from the picture.

OOO

The staircase was dark and chilly, with the cold desert night seeping in everywhere. Yugi shivered slightly, while Malik looked ill. It didn't matter how many tombs he explored, they still reminded him painfully of his childhood home and the years he had spent underground. Harry, Ron and Hermione were partially awestruck, but partially unnerved, as they had been shown the dark acts committed in the chamber below, and they knew what was coming when they reached the bottom of the staircase. They could feel the icy tendrils of death and misery pushing on them, trying to drive them out of the village.

"Anyone else getting a really creepy vibe from this place?" Ron asked as they descended the staircase, their footsteps echoing sinisterly as they went.

"This village was slaughtered before its time," Bakura explained. "It now exists to drive visitors out, to make them feel the anguish and despair that its inhabitants did as they were sacrificed."

"Thanks for the cheerful image," Harry said, his voice as dry as the desert outside.

"You asked," Bakura said. "The spirits of the village are very restless with so many magical intrusions this day."

The three wizards frowned.

"Those things that attacked us out there?" Hermione asked.

"They didn't look like the spirits we learned about at Hogwarts," Ron said. "They looked more like ghosts, only without features."

"There's a difference?" Kaiba asked, scepticism laced into every inch of his voice.

"Ghosts are transparent," Harry explained, as though this were natural to him. "But you can still see them. They're the…imprint of a departed soul, I think was how they were explained to me."

"Spirits," Hermione took over in a professional manner. She had not missed the scepticism in Kaiba's voice (though to be honest you would have had to have been deaf to miss it) and she was determined to explain the truth to him. "Are the souls of people or animals that are confide to certain people or objects…or I suppose, buildings too."

"And they're normally completely invisible to human eye," Ron added.

"Normally," Malik cracked a smile while nodding at Yugi and Bakura.

"Yeah except when they're possessing random students in our class," Ron amended.

"It's not random at all," Yugi said. "The Items chose us because we're the ones destined to bear them."

"Don't start that destiny speech of yours again," Kaiba complained. "It got boring a long time ago."

The bearers rolled their eyes. Kaiba was never going to change. Harry, Ron and Hermione noticed this, but they did not comment. They had gathered that this was normal behaviour for the uptight CEO.

"We're here," Bakura announced.

'Here' turned out to be the bottom of the staircase. The chamber was lit by torches and a dais stood at one end. The walls were painted in paintings, hieroglyphs and hieratic text, and even what looked like thieves code, each depicting in their own words what had happened to the people of the village. The sacrifice platform had long since disappeared, and in the centre of the dais, where the cauldron had stood was the Millennium Stone, all seven slots in which were empty.

Standing before the dias, were two duellists. One was a tall red haired beefy man, and the other, a slender dark haired woman. Both had vague glassy looks in their eyes, and Kaiba recognised them at once.

"You two?!" the CEO gasped. "You were both Sealed!"

"They were?" Malik asked in confusion. Yugi came to a horrible realisation and Yami immediately took over. On his left, Bakura couldn't help but be impressed by the Pharaoh's anger. He looked ready to kill.

"These are the two who kidnapped Mokuba and Serenity and Sealed Joey!"

Malik immediately looked equally as murderous as Yami. Hermione gasped and Harry and Ron drew their wand, but before they could do anything, Bakura threw out an arm to stop them from throwing curses. The Millennium Ring was doing some soul searching, and he didn't like the results.

"They're still Sealed," he announced. "The Ring can't detect either of their souls."

"Thought they were being too quiet," Malik muttered.

"So we're fighting shells?" Harry asked.

"_That is correct Potter,"_ came a voice that bounced off of the walls of the chamber – a voice that the bearers had heard once in their lives and that Harry had heard all too often.

"Voldemort!" the Boy Who Lived exclaimed.

"Where is he?!" Malik demanded, whirling around wildly.

"Not here, clearly," Bakura said dryly, before raising his voice. "Why not come out and face us yourself?!"

"_I am quite content with my servants thank you_," the high-disembodied voice said. "_They shall be all I need to defeat you all while I myself prepare for my entrance into Hogwarts_."

"No!" Hermione gasped. Beside her, Ron paled dramatically and Harry ground his teeth together.

"You aren't getting all of us," Yami said firmly. "You can fight myself, Malik and Bakura because you messed with our dreams…"

"His lackeys kidnapped my brother Yugi," Kaiba snapped back, stepping forwards with his duel disk raised. "This is my fight!"

"This is all our fight!" Harry interrupted, angry that he and his friends had been instantly removed from the battle plans.

"You don't know what could happen in this duel!" Yami protested. "Neither of you three will be put at risk. The Orichalcos is our problem, we will fight it!"

"_Oh I think not_," Voldemort said, and immediately an invisible force slammed Harry, Ron, Hermione, Malik and Kaiba against the wall. Snake like ropes appeared and bound them tightly in place.

The Eye of Horus flared on both Yami and Bakura's foreheads as they felt their anger peak.

"Let. Them. GO!" Yami bellowed, now well and truly pissed at the one who had dared to hurt his friends.

"_You are in no position to make demands_," Voldemort said lazily. "_With those five here I have ensured your co-operation. And Potter and his little friends have evaded me for too long now. All of your souls will be of much benefit to my cause_."

"Why our souls?" Harry demanded more bravely than he felt. "You never had a problem with just killing people before. Why did you start Sealing them instead?"

"_An interesting question indeed Potter_," the Dark Lord hissed. "_But it is of no concern to you. I believe you are too nosy for your own good_."

"You coward!" Kaiba spat to the ceiling, before glaring at Yami in a way that said quite clearly "_you had better not screw this up Yugi_". Yami nodded and gave Bakura a look. The thief looked distinctly unhappy, but readied his duel disk. Yami did the same.

"Let's end this," the Pharaoh declared.

"_As you wish_," Voldemort said. "_Angus, Raquel, if you would_."

Both duellists stepped forward. Up close Yami could see that Bakura was right. Their eyes had a distance to them that reminded him of Weevil and Rex, only there was no conscious soul here. This was far worse than what Voldemort had done to the former Regional Champions. Angus and Raquel were mere puppets with Voldemort pulling the strings.

"_Rules are as follows_," Voldemort stated. "_Tag team rules will be Asian style. I do not want a repeat of the last time these two fools duelled_."

Yami could hear Bakura swearing under his breath in Egyptian. He too had seen Voldemort's plan, and he was not happy about it. Yami would have felt happier playing under American tag team rules, but he knew Voldemort was hoping that as he and Bakura had been former enemies, that they would not co-operate. While they were on better terms then they had been before, he did not know how Bakura would react to duelling as a team. And of course it did not help that their decks were not designed to work together. None the less, he nodded.

"Agreed. But when we win you return Joey and Shadi's souls to us."

"Can't we just leave Shadi?" Malik asked again hopefully. No one answered him.

"_Very well_," Voldemort said. "_Their souls are my ante_."

"Then let's duel!" Bakura declared. All four duellists engaged their disks, and the trays slid into place. The game had begun…

OOO

* * *

**A/N: **(peeks out from the box she has been hiding under) Well there you have it. My sorry attempt at making things better…

Now I've moaned and bitched long enough, so good things now. I _did _finish nanowrimo, if anyone was wondering (anyone who wants to read an excerpt can find the link in my profile page). And I've just seen the third trailer for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. The last few movies I have despaired over, both as a fan and a student of Media Studies. However after seeing this trailer, I was pretty shocked to discover that this movie actually looks _good _and I really really _want _to see it…does that make me a poor media student if I've allowed myself to fall victim to advertising?...please don't tell my tutors!

I have a new oneshot up. It probably won't make a lot of sense, but you can still laugh at its stupidity. Reviewers will be showered with advent calenders (honestly, we're a month till Christmas, and the shops had their decorations and music out three weeks ago!).

Also my friends and I are booked to go to an anime convention in April, so I'm thrilled about that. We're still debating about whether we can be bothered to cosplay or not. Anyone else going to Kitacon in Northampton next April?

Anyway, that was chapter 29, and now I'm going to go to the doctors to have my ears syringed out, because I've been partially deaf for the last week and a half. Please review!


	30. Chapter 30: Hidden Connections

**Disclaimer: **If I owned them you would be watching them on mainstream TV uncensored!

**A/N: **Okay…I'm late. I need to explain something very important though.

I wrote this chapter, and was all set to post. Then my beta spotted some huge gaping holes in the duel that we had all overlooked (how THREE people managed to miss this completely we have no idea). So I whined and moaned and bitched for a very long time at the prospect of writing the damn thing again, and so DuelistBlake1852 said he would write this duel too. So the duel belongs to Blake. The scenes in between belong to me (points at self).

I will freely admit right now, I look at writing duels, the same way JK Rowling looked at writing Quidditch matches – i.e. I hate it. I love the game to bits. But the problem is, while I love playing it, I don't love writing about it. It gets too complex working everything out, when all I do when playing is spontaneous planning (yeah that's my strategy in duels – I make it up as I go along. I've been told that either makes me a crap duellist, or a dangerous one).

Though I have relied on someone else for the the last two duels in this story, I WILL be writing my own duels in the sequel. But I don't plan on posting that for quite some time so that gives myself and my betas enough time to properly read the whole story through and make sure it makes sense. And I really can't get better at writing duels if I keep relying on other people.

Either way, this duel does not belong to me. Give my beta props for that. Anything that is NOT duelling in this chapter, is mine though.

This is also a chance for some RSSA – Random Shameless Self Advertising as my friend calls it. Only it's not Self Advertising as I'm advertising for someone else. But either way – read DuelistBlake1852's work!

Also I put up chapter 28 (again, the duel belongs to Blake) and reshuffled a few of the scenes in 28 over to 29. The duel is the only new bit though. SO GO READ THAT BEFORE YOU READ THIS CHAPTER!

Now I'm going to shut up and let you read this mammoth length chapter - hopefully the fact that it is mammoth length will make up for the wait.

* * *

**Chapter 30: Hidden Connections**

The four duellists (six including Yugi and Ryou) each drew their five cards from their decks. Before anyone in the room could speak up, Voldemort's cold voice cut into the air again.

_"Turn order will be as follows. The Nameless Pharaoh will go first, followed by Raquel, then the bearer of the Ring, and finally Angus. With that said, you may begin."_

**(Yami and Bakura: 8,000 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 8,000 Life Points)**

Yami growled at yet another disadvantage he saw right there. Since he was taking the first turn, he wouldn't be able to attack right away. It seemed the duel was going to take a bit longer to finish than anticipated. But he drew his sixth card nonetheless.

"Fine," he growled. "Now let's just start this duel!"

"You'd better not screw this up, Pharaoh," Bakura warned him. "I'd rather not lose to the servants of some Dark Lord wannabe."

Yami was too busy examining his options to even argue. Beside him, Yugi's spirit form hovered so that he could see the Pharaoh's cards.

/_Well, maybe we can't attack, but at least we have a good defence to start off with_/Yugi reasoned.

//_One that we can turn into a massive offence on the next turn_//Yami agreed. //_Let's just hope this works_//

He selected two cards and placed them in his Duel-Disk. "I'll begin with a Monster facedown in Defence Mode, and also one card facedown. That will end my turn."

Raquel gave no remark as she made her draw, but Yami had expected this seeing as she was lacking her soul.

"Set two cards," Raquel spoke up. "One Monster in Defence Mode. End turn."

Yami gave a small frown. So much for the assumption. But at least he and Bakura would be able to tell when their opponents ended their turns.

Bakura drew a card and prepared to make his move, but one of Raquel's facedown cards turned over before he could even announce his play.

"Trap activate," droned Raquel. "Bad Reaction to Simochi. All gains to opponent's Life Points are now converted into damage to the opponent."

Bakura looked confused. There was only one card in his deck that would be a benefit to his Life Points, and aside from that Bad Reaction to Simochi was a very situational card with an effect that hardly ever worked.

//_Why would Raquel use it?_//No sooner had he asked himself that question did he come up with an answer right there. //_Of course..._//

/_That must be it_/Ryou leapt in. /_Raquel's deck is designed to increase our Life Points so that she can damage us with that Trap Card instead. It must be a heavy burn deck, and that's a very powerful archetype to exploit_/

//_But there's a very serious weakness to that strategy_//Bakura pointed out. //_All we have to do is wipe out Bad Reaction to Simochi, and her entire strategy will turn against her. Unless she has ways to protect her Trap Card, she won't take much effort to deal with_//

However, Raquel was not done. "Activate second Trap Card," she continued, in a horrible emotionless drone. "The Eye of Truth. All cards in opponents' hands are revealed. If Spell Cards are in the hands, the opponents gain a thousand Life Points."

Yami and Bakura flinched, but reluctantly turned their hands around for their opponents to see. Everyone, including the captives bound against the wall, saw that Yami was holding King's Knight, Archfiend of Gilfer, Dark Magic Attack, and Big Shield Gardna, whereas Bakura had Headless Knight, Spirit Illusion, Sangan, Earthbound Spirit, Rebirth Tablet, and Pot of Greed. They both grunted as the effect of Raquel's first Continuous Trap Card activated and sapped them of their Life Points, leaving them with stinging pains in their stomachs.

**(Yami and Bakura: 7,000 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 8,000 Life Points)**

"Good gods…turn one and they've already taken damage!" Malik exclaimed with his eyes widening in horror. "They've got their work cut out for them!"

Hermione would have held her hands to her heart were it not for the magical restraints binding her wrists to the wall. "Please be careful, you two!" she pleaded with the ancient spirits.

Bakura and Yami soon straightened up from the blow and glared at the soulless Death Eaters, determined to get even.

"I hope you enjoyed that," Bakura spat. "Since you both now know that I have Pot of Greed in my hand, I'm going to play it right away!"

He dumped the Pot of Greed card into his Graveyard and drew twice more. He suddenly looked very pleased when he saw what one of them was.

"Ha!" he laughed. "Looks like your two Trap Cards aren't going to last long after all! I activate Heavy Storm, to destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the field! Sadly that includes the Pharaoh's, but it's a small price to pay!"

Yami agreed wholeheartedly as he felt the winds pick up speed around them, until they became like gales blowing inside the chamber. His facedown Trap Card - Soul Rope - lifted up and exploded, as did the holograms of Raquel's two Trap Cards, leaving all of the Spell/Trap Card zones clear as day. With the Eye of Truth gone, the ancient spirits concealed their hands, so that they had their element of surprise once again.

"Phew!" Ron sighed in relief. "That was fast!"

"Well it's a start," Malik admitted. "Let's just hope they can keep it up."

/_Yes!_/Ryou celebrated. /_Now to get rid of Raquel's Monster!_/

Bakura gave a tiny nod toward his hikari and held up another card. "Now that that's out of the way, I'm going to summon my Headless Knight in Attack Mode!"

A thick mist gathered in front of the thief, and from it emerged the Headless Knight, its white ornamental armour looking a little darkened due to the lack of light. The phantom readied its sword to prepare for a battle. (ATK: 1,450/ DEF: 1,700)

"And since these are Asian tag-team rules we're playing by, I can also do this!" Bakura continued. "I Flip Summon the Pharaoh's Monster! So let's see what it is, shall we?"

At his command, Yami's facedown Monster Card turned over to reveal the Queen's Knight. Like Headless Knight, her armour was a bit dull in brightness too, but the female didn't seem to care. (ATK: 1,500/ DEF: 1,600)

"Good enough, I guess," Bakura decided. "Queen's Knight, attack Raquel's Monster with Blade of Hearts!"

Queen's Knight looked very resentful at being commanded by her master's rival, but she obeyed anyway, leaping forward and stabbing her blade into the middle of Raquel's facedown Monster. But as soon as she did, the Marshmallon hopped out from under the card and snapped its fangs at her, causing her to retreat quickly so that she would not get bitten. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 500)

"Marshmallon cannot be destroyed in battle," Raquel informed. "And if it's attacked while facedown in Defence Mode, opponent loses one-thousand Life Points."

Bakura spat out a curse word in Egyptian.

**(Yami and Bakura: 6,000 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 8,000 Life Points)**

"Argh, whatever!" growled the King of Thieves, and he shoved another of his cards into a slot. "I'll end my turn with a facedown card! Your move, Angus!"

"Bakura, you need to be careful!" Yami advised. "We can't just attack their facedown cards so recklessly! If Raquel's Trap Cards were any indication, they could be very dangerous!"

"Shut up, Pharaoh!" snapped Bakura. "I don't need you to tell me how to duel!"

/_But he _does _have a point_/said Ryou. /_We can't play without thinking in this duel. There are some souls at stake, remember?_/

Bakura decided to ignore that and watched Angus make his move instead.

"Draw," the Scottish Death Eater mumbled as he drew his sixth card. "Activate Spell Card, Cost Down. Discard one card from hand, and for one turn, Monsters on field and in hands have their levels lowered by two."

Kaiba glared daggers at Angus, obviously angry that one of his former enemies was using a card he had in his deck. But Angus gave no heed to the glare, and discarded a card to pay for the effect of Cost Down.

"Choose to summon Big-Tusked Mammoth in Attack Mode."

A Monster that Yami, Yugi, and Kaiba recognized all too well appeared on the field and let out a loud bellow. It was a mammoth with purple fur and a powerful set of tusks. A cold wind seemed to blow from its very being, thus lowering the temperature in the room. (ATK: 2,000/ DEF: 1,000)

/_Noah used that Monster!_/Yugi gasped. /_It can prevent our Monsters from attacking on the turn they are summoned!_/

/_And it's stronger than both of ours..._/Yami growled.

"Big-Tusked Mammoth attacks Headless Knight," Angus continued, pointing a finger at the armored phantom. "Tusk Trample."

The Big-Tusked Mammoth stampeded towards its target and speared it through with its tusks. Headless Knight made no noise as it was tossed backwards and shattered into shards, and Bakura's eyes narrowed with anger.

**(Yami and Bakura: 5,450 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 8,000 Life Points)**

"That activates my Trap Card!" he barked, and his facedown card flipped up. "Rebirth Tablet! Since you destroyed Headless Knight in battle, I can now Special Summon one Monster from my...or should I say, _our_ Graveyard! Of course, there's only one there, and I'll bring it back in Defence Mode this time."

The Headless Knight rematerialized onto the field, but it was now crouching in a cautious stance and holding up its shield. (ATK: 1,450/ DEF: 1,700)

/_I hope the Pharaoh figures out my plan..._/Bakura thought, casting his partner a quick glance.

Luckily for him, Yami _did _figure it out as soon as he had caught the glance Bakura had given him. His eyes turned toward one of the Monster Cards in his hand, and he smirked a little.

"End turn," Angus concluded.

"Those two had better not lose," Kaiba grumbled while the Pharaoh began his second turn. "Or else I'm going to-"

"Yell at them?" Malik finished for him. "That's pretty much all you'll be able to do, given that we'll probably stay stuck to this wall if they do lose."

"They _won't _lose," Harry said firmly, narrowing his eyes so much that it hurt. "They can't lose here. Too much is at stake."

"Let's hope so, mate..." Ron muttered.

Meanwhile, Yami was making his move. "Now I sacrifice Bakura's Headless Knight in order to summon my Archfiend of Gilfer to the field!"

Bakura sighed in relief as the Headless Knight vanished again and was replaced by the horned fiend with dark-blue skin and a blood-red hide caked over its bulging muscles. It gave a low growl from its throat as if to install fear into everybody in the room. (ATK: 2,200/ DEF: 2,500)

"Sadly, I can't attack with it right away thanks to your Big-Tusked Mammoth, Angus," Yami sighed in dejection. "So I'll have to end my turn. But when Bakura takes his turn, your Mammoth will fall!"

Raquel disregarded the bold declaration and drew another card. Without any hesitation, she made her move. "Set one Monster in Defence Mode. Switch Big-Tusked Mammoth to Defence Mode. End turn."

Another facedown Monster appeared next to the grinning Marshmallon, and the Big-Tusked Mammoth lowered its head and tried to dig its feet into the stone floor as best it could to steel itself for an attack.

"My move again!" Bakura whipped off another card from his deck. "And this time I'll summon my Doomcaliber Knight in Attack Mode!"

The skeletal knight with his black mount galloped out onto the field from behind the thief, drawing his sword as he went. The horse dragged to a halt beside the Archfiend of Gilfer and let out a demonic neigh. (ATK: 1,900/ DEF: 1,800)

"Now to rid the field of that relic!" Bakura barked. "Queen's Knight, cut down the Big-Tusked Mammoth at once!"

Queen's Knight was more willing to attack this time, as she pounced upon the Big-Tusked Mammoth and chopped it into pixels with her sword. The captives (except for Kaiba) started cheering at this spectacle, whereas the Death Eaters gave no reaction.

"Archfiend of Gilfer, you take the facedown Monster!" commanded Bakura. "Hell Swipes!"

The muscular Archfiend swiped its claws across the mystery Monster on Raquel's field. As the card was torn to shreds, the silhouette of a Mask of Darkness appeared over it, hovering motionlessly in mid-air.

"Mask of Darkness," Raquel explained. "Can now reclaim one Trap Card from Graveyard. Choose-"

She was interrupted by a shriek from the Doomcaliber Knight, who flung its sword at the tiny cracked mask, causing it to break into pixels and vanish from sight. Then the fiendish knight and its mount disappeared as well.

"'Fraid that won't be happening," Bakura chuckled. "Since you tried to activate a Monster effect, my Doomcaliber Knight immediately tributes itself in order to negate that effect. So no getting back your Bad Reaction to Simochi, girl."

//_And a good thing too that I summoned him_//he added mentally. //_Otherwise we would have been in more trouble. I don't have anything else in my hand that can destroy Spell or Trap Cards, and I've mostly got Monsters waiting in the wings. I'm at a bit of a disadvantage..._//

/_Give it time, it'll change soon_/Ryou assured him. /_Besides, we've got some powerful Monsters to hold them off, so we should have plenty of time to get what we need_/

Bakura nodded in agreement and announced the end of his turn. "Your go, Angus."

Angus slowly moved another card from the top of his deck to his hand. He looked like a robot with the way he was moving his arm. It was slightly unnerving.

"Set one card," he moaned. "One Monster in Defence Mode. Turn end."

Yami cracked a grin and drew. Now was the time to exploit a major advantage. He yanked out his King's Knight card and slapped it on his Disk. "I summon King's Knight in Attack Mode!"

The bearded knight in orange armour and a blue cape appeared, giving Queen's Knight a fond smile as he did. He hung his shield on his belt and drew his sword. (ATK: 1,600/ DEF: 1,400)

"And that activates his effect!" declared Yami. "Since he was Normal Summoned while Queen's Knight was on the field, I can Special Summon Jack's Knight from my deck, giving us a total of four Monsters on the field!"

A third knight, this one dressed in sapphire-blue armour, soon joined the other two and the Archfiend of Gilfer. He had a very stern glare on his face, and his blue shield sported a golden cross. (ATK: 1,900/ DEF: 1,000)

"_Well, four Monsters on their field is a great lead," _Malik thought. "_Now if only they had some sort of way to destroy that Marshmallon, they'd be able to press their advantage!"_

"Next, I'll play the card I just drew..." Yami slotted a Spell Card into his Disk. "Card Destruction! So now we discard our hands and draw cards equal to the amount of cards we discarded!"

Bakura looked even more pleased as he placed his hand of four cards into his Graveyard and drew four more from his deck. With so many Monsters in there now, it would provide great ammo for his Spirit Shield, assuming he managed to draw it.

Angus and Raquel simply placed their cards into their Graveyard slots and redrew their hands, and Yami soon followed suit. He couldn't help but feel relieved that he would soon have a new hand, as his options weren't very vast. But upon redrawing, both yami and hikari looked frustrated with their new cards.

//_Still nothing that can destroy that Marshmallon!_// Yami growled. //_At this rate, it's going to take a miracle to get rid of it!_//

/_Maybe Bakura drew something that can do the job for us_/Yugi suggested.

//_Let's hope so_//said Yami. //_For now, let's see what that facedown Monster Angus has is...except he has a facedown card now. I'm not so sure if it's wise to risk it...perhaps we should wait it out until we can destroy it_//

/G_ood idea_/Yugi agreed.

"I end my turn," the Pharaoh announced.

Bakura had caught the look of frustration passing Yami's face and interpreted that he still had drawn nothing to destroy Marshmallon. //_Looks like he isn't having some good luck over _there// he deduced.

/_Good thing we are_/Ryou said. /_His Card Destruction helped us out. We just drew something that can rid us of that Marshmallon for good. Now we just need to wait for our turn so that we can use it_/

The thief gave a small grin as he took in his new hand.

"Draw," Raquel intoned, and she did as she said. "Spell Card, activate. Wave-Motion Cannon."

"Wave-Motion Cannon?" Harry asked in surprise. He glanced over at the Tomb Keeper. "Malik, what does that do?"

But Malik's face had gone white with horror. "Oh, shit..." he whispered. "This is trouble..."

Before Harry could inquire further, his attention was grabbed by a hissing sound and a fog of steam coming from Raquel's field. A huge white cannon appeared from among the mist and aimed its nose at the terrified Yami and Bakura, gushing blasts of steam.

"Effect of Wave-Motion Cannon," Raquel explained. "During each of our Standby Phases, one counter is placed on the card. At any time during Main Phase 1, the card can be discarded, and the opponent receives damage equal to the amount of Wave-Motion Cannon's counters, multiplied by one-thousand."

//_Damn!_//Bakura gasped. //_That's not good! Now we have only six turns to win this duel or destroy that card, otherwise we're done for!_//

/_Raquel's more clever than we thought!_// Yami exclaimed. //_She took into account that she might lose her Bad Reaction to Simochi and be unable to reclaim it, so she placed cards in her deck that can damage us directly! We've got to destroy that cannon, and quickly before we lose!_//

"Activate second Spell Card," continued Raquel. "Dark Room of Nightmare. Each time opponent receives effect damage, an additional three-hundred points of damage is inflicted to the opponent."

Shadowy spirits started to form near the walls and flock the room like birds. The Hogwarts students, Malik, and Kaiba cringed a little as some of the spirits passed them from behind, but they did not feel pain otherwise, which gave them a small sense of comfort coupled with fear for their would-be saviours.

Raquel placed one of her two remaining cards on her Disk's wing. "Set one Monster in Defence Mode, and end turn."

Bakura drew quickly and jammed a card into a slot. "I activate the Spell Card, Spirit Sword of Sealing! Thanks to this, I can remove one of your Monsters from play, and that Monster stays gone as long as this card remains on the field! I choose your Marshmallon, Raquel!"

The card's hologram materialized on the field, and a green sword shot out of it and impaled the Marshmallon in its lower half, causing the creature to screech in agony. Then they both disappeared into thin air, leaving no traces behind.

"And another thing," Bakura added with a grin. "You can't destroy the Spirit Sword of Sealing with any card effect at all. However, it _can _be destroyed should you manage to send a Monster to your Graveyard. But don't think I'm going to help you do that, for now I summon Disgraced Mage to the field!"

A low moan echoed from somewhere, and a new Monster materialized on Bakura's field. It was covered in a tattered black cloak, and it carried a long cudgel with its thin, bony arms. (ATK: 1,700/ DEF: 1,200)

"Next, I'll switch Queen's Knight and Archfiend of Gilfer to Defence Mode," Bakura said, and the named Monsters both dropped to their knees and struck defensive poses. "Then I shall attack! Disgraced Mage, destroy Raquel's facedown Monster with Cursed Cudgel!"

Disgraced Mage aimed its cudgel at Raquel's Monsters and fired a blast of deathly energy. The silhouette of a Giant Germ appeared on the card right before the blast struck, and the energy ripped it and its card into pixels.

"Giant Germ," Raquel reported. "Its effect-"

"-does not activate," Bakura interrupted. "When Disgraced Mage destroys a Monster in battle, that Monster does not go to the Graveyard, but rather it goes to the top of your deck! Like I said, I won't help you free your Marshmallon that easily!"

Raquel actually looked a little incensed by that, but the flicker of emotion was gone quickly and she slipped her card back on top of her deck.

"Now then..." Bakura stared at Angus's own hidden Monster with an annoyed scowl. "I can't risk destroying that Monster, lest I dispel my own Spirit Sword of Sealing, so I'll have to end my turn."

"Why did he switch two of the Pharaoh's Monsters to Defence Mode?" Ron asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"I know why," Hermione chimed in. "Queen's Knight and Archfiend of Gilfer have higher Defence Points than they have Attack Points. Since Bakura can't risk destroying another Monster unless he can attack again with his Disgraced Mage, he's taking advantage of that and making it harder for Angus and Raquel to destroy some of their Monsters."

"Very good, Hermione," Malik praised her. "You catch on fast."

Hermione would have felt flattered were it not for the situation she was in. The CEO, on the other hand, had something else to say about her explanation.

"Like that's going to make a difference," Kaiba snorted. "Good as that move was, there's a huge weakness there. Both Bakura and Yugi each have a combined total of five Monsters on their field, and with Asian tag-team rules they can't go past that amount. Nor can they do so with Spell and Trap Cards. So unless they intend to summon high-level Monsters by tribute, they've locked their Monster Card zones up."

Bakura overheard him and rolled his eyes. _//Why did we want to bring the Priest along again?_//

/_Never mind him_/Ryou advised, /_Just concentrate on the duel_/

As the comments from the spectators were being made, Angus had drawn his card and seemed to think about his available choices. After a long moment of silence, he finally chose a card.

"Summon Great Angus."

His namesake, the rampaging boar with pink skin and a loincloth, burst out from underground, sending stone fragments flying everywhere. It snarled through its teeth, eager for blood. (ATK: 1,800/ DEF: 600)

"Spell Card, activate," Angus declared. "Wild Nature's Release. Now Great Angus's Defence Points combine with its Attack Points, at the cost of being destroyed at the end of the turn."

Great Angus's muscles almost ripped out of the beast's insides as they bulged to even bigger sizes, and the beast itself let out a terrible howl as it felt the adrenaline being pumped through its system in huge amounts. (ATK: 1,800/ DEF: 600) - (ATK: 2,400/ DEF: 600)

/_No!_/Yugi yelled as a realization came home to him. /_Now when Great Angus is destroyed, Bakura's Spirit Sword of Sealing will be destroyed and that Marshmallon will be back!_/

Bakura seemed to catch on as well, for he looked like he was about to charge over there and clock Angus over the head with his Duel-Disk. But nobody noticed the violent twitching of his eyes, not even Ryou.

"Great Angus strikes down King's Knight," Angus stated. "Rampaging Fury."

The Great Angus dashed over to the knights and slugged the bearded one hard in the torso with its fists. The wounded knight was deprived of his breath, so that he could not scream out in pain even as he was thrown back and shattered into shards. Yami glared at Angus with rage.

**(Yami and Bakura: 4,650 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 8,000 Life Points)**

"You'll regret what you've done!" the Pharaoh vowed.

The threat was lost on Angus. "End turn."

Suddenly, the Great Angus's knees started to buckle, and the boar dropped to the floor and clutched its hands to its heart. It exploded into numerous body parts, all of which vanished before they could hit the floor. The image of Bakura's Spirit Sword of Sealing faded out of sight, and the Marshmallon reappeared at the same spot it was occupying before it had gone. The tiny desert topping hopped up and down in excitement, looking happy to be back. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 500)

"Argh, that damn cream puff is getting on my nerves!" Bakura snarled. "Pharaoh, get rid of that thing before I go crazy!"

Yami was in full agreement with the thief as he drew. That Marshmallon _had _to go if they were to have any chance of winning. He looked at what he drew...and his eyes just about bulged out of their sockets. But it was out of relief, not fear.

"I activate Soul Taker!" he shouted, and he slammed the card into his Disk. "This allows me to destroy one of your Monsters in exchange for giving you two a bonus of one-thousand Life Points! Care to guess who I'm choosing?"

A ghostly hand reached down from the ceiling and grabbed the Marshmallon. Ron just about screeched in terror as the hand pulled its captive up into the ceiling and vanished from sight, but everyone else was relieved that the Monster was finally gone for good.

**(Yami and Bakura: 4,650 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 9,000 Life Points)**

/_Way to go, Yami!_/Yugi cheered. /_Now let's take these guys down!_/

"Next, I'll switch my Queen's Knight and Archfiend of Gilfer back into Attack Mode!" Yami exclaimed. "And then I'm going to have Archfiend of Gilfer attack! Destroy Angus's facedown Monster with Hell Swipes!"

The Queen's Knight jumped back up on her feet and brandished her sword, while the Archfiend of Gilfer pounced out of its crouching position and tore the hologram of Angus's facedown Monster to shreds. It growled in anger as something else appeared in its place: a pair of hyenas screeching like little kids and chasing each other in circles. (ATK: 1,000/ DEF: 300) x 2

"Hyena's effect," Angus said. "When destroyed in battle, any existing copies of it are summoned from the deck. Choose to summon them in Defence Mode."

Yami was unfazed by this. "That's fine by me, because I have three more attacks to use! Queen's Knight and Disgraced Mage, destroy those Hyenas at once!"

But before the Queen's Knight and Disgraced Mage could even lift their weapons, Angus pointed a finger at his facedown card, and it rose up. "Negate Attack, activate. Attack is negated and Battle Phase ends."

A vortex of swirling energy materialized in front of the Hyenas before it died down rather quickly. Queen's Knight looked very disappointed that she wouldn't get to attack, but the Disgraced Mage simply lowered its cudgel and remained silent.

Yami bit back a curse before he continued his move. "Very well, then," he sighed. "I'll have to end my turn by placing one card facedown."

"Okay, I'm a bit confused," Harry commented. "Angus could have activated his Negate Attack and protected his first Hyena. Why did he wait to use it?"

"I know why..." Malik muttered. "He must want to sacrifice one or both of them for another high-powered Monster. But there's something else those two have got to worry about: Raquel's Wave-Motion Cannon. They had better destroy it quickly, and they've only got three turns left to do so!"

"Oi!" Bakura yelled, looking irritably over his shoulder. "No backseat duelling!"

Malik bit his tongue and fell silent. He knew Bakura would never admit to being nervous, no matter how high the risk.

"But what if they can't destroy it?" Hermione asked in despair. "They'll lose, won't they?"

No one had an answer to her question. Everyone's eyes were on Raquel, who had drawn her card to begin her turn. Everyone knew that she had drawn Giant Germ, though; Bakura's Disgraced Mage had returned it to her deck last turn.

"Set one Monster in Defence Mode," Raquel droned. "And end turn."

/_No doubt about _it/ Ryou thought as the facedown Monster reappeared on the Death Eaters' field. /_It's obviously her Giant Germ. Fortunately, our Disgraced Mage can get it out of the way for another turn, and we can also get rid of Angus's Hyenas and stop him from summoning another powerful Monster_/

Bakura nodded in agreement and pulled another card from his deck. His eyes shone a little. It was the card depicting his Ka.

//_Talk about good timing!_//he said gleefully. //_Maybe he can dish those two fools a little dose of pain! And I know just the perfect offering to make for his summoning..._//

"Pharaoh, not that I'd normally ask, but mind if I borrow your Queen's Knight?" he asked aloud. "I'll need her to summon what I've drawn."

"Go ahead, Bakura," Yami encouraged him. "Whatever helps you helps me as well."

"You're too kind," Bakura smirked. "So now, I sacrifice Queen's Knight in order to summon my Diabound Colonel!"

The Queen's Knight closed her eyes before she vanished into sparks of light, and the silver-skinned demon with a snake for a lower half slithered out from behind the thief and grinned at the Death Eaters, obviously pleased that he had been summoned. (ATK: 1,800/ DEF: 1,200)

"Now, back to the best part...massacre!" laughed Bakura. "Disgraced Mage, destroy Raquel's facedown Giant Germ again, would you?"

Again the Disgraced Mage cast a beam of magic at Raquel's defending Monster, and the Giant Germ's ghost appeared again before being consumed by the energy along with its representing card. Raquel looked a little annoyed again for a moment, before putting her card on top of her deck again.

"Archfiend of Gilfer and Jack's Knight, eliminate those Hyenas!" ordered Bakura.

Jack's Knight screamed a battlecry and charged forward, as did the Archfiend of Gilfer. He stabbed his sword into the chest of one of the Hyenas, while the Archfiend ran its claws through the other one. The two Hyenas fell dead against their attackers' weapons and broke into pixelated shards, having met the same fate as the first Hyena's.

"Then there's my Diabound!" Bakura yelled. "I've been wanting to do this to you fools since the duel began! Diabound Colonel, attack Angus and Raquel directly with your Helical Shockwave!"

Diabound Colonel happily called an orb of bright energy to his hands and flung it at the ground between the Death Eaters. It exploded upon contact, sending both Angus and Raquel falling over in heaps. But they continued to keep their silence as they got back up and stared at their foes.

**(Yami and Bakura: 4,650 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 7,200 Life Points)**

"Can't they just complain a little?" Ron remarked. "That looked as if that hurt."

"They don't have souls, Ron," Hermione reminded him. "I doubt they can even feel the pain."

"Or they could be, but they lack the emotion to care about it," Malik mused. "Either way, at least they finally took a hit...now he and the Pharaoh just need to keep this up, and we'll be out of here in no time!"

"Don't celebrate yet, you fools," Kaiba grumbled. "As long as that Wave-Motion Cannon stays there, their chances of victory aren't exactly high."

"We _know _that, High Priest," Bakura snapped at him, earning him a glare from the CEO in return. Then he scowled at the cards in his hand again and grumbled a little. "Argh...I have to end my turn..."

Angus drew. After looking at his new card, he placed it into his Disk. "Graceful Charity, activate. Can draw three cards, and discard two from hand afterwards."

His deck glowed with pure light, and he snapped off three cards from it. He gave them a glance, and then picked out two of them and slotted them into his Graveyard. Then he plugged in another Spell Card, and a very familiar ankh rose up from behind him, glowing with red light...

"Monster Reborn..." Yami muttered. "He's bringing back a Monster he discarded..."

"But which one?" Bakura wondered.

The question was soon answered as a familiar Monster loomed over Angus's part of the field...one that Kaiba recognized from his duel with the two Death Eaters. It was the Big Koala, who was chewing on its bunch of leaves as if nothing was happening. (ATK: 2,700/ DEF: 2,000)

"That Monster..." the CEO muttered. "Yugi, Bakura, be careful out there! That's a Big Koala, and it was the thing that took down Wheeler when we duelled those two!"

The words brought out a very ugly look on the Pharaoh's face. Even Yugi looked enraged.

"Is that so?" Yami asked with a poisonous tone, glaring at Angus. "So that was you, wasn't it? You're the one who took Joey's soul...well in that case, it will be my pleasure to tear your Big Koala to shreds and make you suffer for what you've done!"

"Oi, Pharaoh!" Malik called out to him. "Keep your focus! In case you haven't noticed, that thing is stronger than all of your Monsters! It won't be easy to destroy it!"

//_Oh, I think he's got that covered..._//Bakura thought, glancing towards Yami's facedown card.

"Big Koala attacks Disgraced Mage," moaned Angus.

But even as the Big Koala slipped its leaves into its fur and prepared to get up from its sitting position, Yami was quick to shout a command of his own. "I activate Spellbinding Circle, to stop your Big Koala from attacking or altering its Battle Position!"

The familiar pentagram from his Trap Card formed beneath the Big Koala and froze all of the animal's nerves stiff, paralyzing it in its tracks.

//_I am just _so _good_//Bakura thought, smirking with triumph.

"Attack is therefore cancelled," Angus droned. "End turn."

/_All right, we've bought ourselves a bit of time_/Yugi said as Yami looked at their deck. /_But that Wave-Motion Cannon's been on the time for three turns now. If we don't get rid of it _this_ turn...I don't think Bakura's going to be able to draw something in time to stop it..._/

Yami closed his eyes and prepared to draw his card...just when the fingers brushed the surface of his top deck, his mind and Yugi's echoed a phrase that they had memorized all too well.

_"Heart of the Cards...guide us!"_

Then Yami yanked his card out and forced himself to look at it, hoping dearly that it was something that could destroy the very creature responsible for the demise of their friend. His wishes were not realized when he saw what he had drawn, but it was something that would clear off another irritation, thankfully for him.

"Perfect!" he yelled, and he held up his card for everyone to see before activating it. "I play Mystical Space Typhoon, and I'll use it to get rid of Raquel's Wave-Motion Cannon before it can wipe us out!"

The captives resisted the urge to cheer as a cyclone blew over to the opposing side of the field and slammed into the Wave-Motion Cannon, causing it to explode into a storm of flying pieces of metal and melted slag.

/_One problem taken care of_/said Yami. /_Now there's another...we have no way to get rid of that Big Koala just yet_/

/_That's okay. Maybe our partner's got an idea_/suggested Yugi.

Yami nodded again and gestured to Raquel. The female Death Eater understood that he had ended his turn, and she drew her card (her Giant Germ again) to start her own. As everyone suspected, she repeated her move from last turn, setting the Giant Germ facedown in Defence Mode...but then she did something else that caught everyone by surprise.

"Activate Mystical Space Typhoon," she said, and the card's hologram reappeared on the field, only this time it was beside that of her Continuous Spell. "Destroy Spellbinding Circle."

"What the Hell?!" Malik yelped in surprise. "She had her Mystical Space Typhoon in her hand as well?! That card must be jinxed or something!"

But his protests could be barely heard over the roaring of the winds as the cyclone picked up again, and this time a tornado enveloped the Big Koala and dispelled the Spellbinding Circle holding it down, freeing the animal from its grip once again. The Big Koala let out a bellow that shook the room, even as the typhoon vanished once more.

"My Trap Card!" Yami gasped. "Now our Monsters are exposed again!"

"Duh, you think?!" Bakura asked sarcastically.

"Big Koala, attack Disgraced Mage," Raquel went on, not bothering to pay attention to their comments.

The Disgraced Mage kept its calm posture even as the Big Koala trampled up to it and smacked it out of the ring with one mighty swipe of its paw. It hit one of the pillars in the room with an audible splat and slid right down to the ground, evaporating into mist as it went.

"Nice try, but you're not getting a shot at our Life Points!" Bakura retorted. "When Disgraced Mage is destroyed in battle, I can shuffle him and the cards in my hand back into my deck, and the Battle Damage is reduced to zero!"

He gathered up his Disgraced Mage and the rest of the cards in his hand, combined them with his deck, and started to shuffle as quickly as he could so that he could get back to the duel. //_Didn't help that I had a lot of Spirit Messages clogging up my hand, so maybe this might be a benefit_//

/_Yes, good idea_/Ryou agreed. /_Now let's just hope that we can get something to help replenish our resources, or we'll be sitting ducks for that oversized koala_/

Raquel waited until Bakura put his deck back into his Disk before she spoke again. "Turn end."

With no cards in his hand now, Bakura was sweating a little as he drew again...but then he relaxed when he saw what it was.

"I'll set one card facedown," he said while plugging it into a Spell/Trap Card slot. "Then I'll switch Archfiend of Gilfer, Jack's Knight, and Diabound Colonel to Defence Mode...and I guess I'll end my turn again."

The three Monsters he and the Pharaoh shared all dropped to their knees and assumed defensive positions, not bothering to regard the facedown card that had appeared behind them. Angus grabbed another card from his deck - still with a robotic movement - and placed it on his Duel-Disk.

"Summon Berserk Gorilla," he droned.

The huge orange ape with its hands in an obscene position leapt onto the field with a loud shriek and snarled at Yami and Bakura, eager to rip their heads off. (ATK: 2,000/ DEF: 1,000)

"Berserk Gorilla attacks Jack's Knight," Angus proclaimed. "And Big Koala attacks Archfiend of Gilfer."

Berserk Gorilla was on top of the Jack's Knight before the second command had even left Angus's lips, ripping him to shreds with hardly any effort. As soon as it was done, the Big Koala lumbered forward again, and this time the Archfiend of Gilfer was unfortunate enough to be in the path of the koala's swinging paw. Diabound Colonel was left all alone to stare the two Beast Monsters down.

"That was a foolish mistake, Angus!" Yami suddenly shouted as he pulled a card back out of his discard slot. "Since you sent Archfiend of Gilfer to the Graveyard, I can equip it to your Berserk Gorilla and lower its Attack Points by five-hundred!"

The Archfiend reappeared right behind the Berserk Gorilla and grabbed the ape into a chokehold, eliciting shrieks of rage and surprise from the primate in question. Then it started to moan and lose its fight as its stats dropped down accordingly. (ATK: 2,000/ DEF: 1,000) - (ATK: 1,500/ DEF: 1,000)

"What?" Ron was confused at this. "Why didn't he use that Archfiend's effect on Big Koala?!"

"Calm down, Ron," Malik told him with a small smirk. "I think I know what he's planning..."

Angus ignored his Berserk Gorilla's screeches of pain and gave the Pharaoh a blank stare. "End turn," he informed.

Yami drew from his deck and picked out one of his other two cards to play. "I'll begin by activating the Spell Card, Swords of Revealing Light! So now your attacks are sealed off for three turns!"

The cage of glowing swords formed near the ceiling and collapsed all around the Death Eaters and their three Monsters. The Big Koala gave no reaction to this, but the Berserk Gorilla screeched another shriek of rage at being deprived of the chance to cause more death.

"Then I'll switch Bakura's Diabound Colonel back to Attack Mode..." Yami paused in his decision and glanced at the thief. "That is, if you don't mind, of course."

Bakura shrugged. "Like you said, Pharaoh. What helps you helps me as well."

Diabound Colonel seemed to agree with this. He rose back up from his defending position and smirked at the weakened Berserk Gorilla, while his snake half started hissing wildly.

"Thank you!" Yami said gratefully. "Now, Diabound, attack the Berserk Gorilla with Helical Shockwave!"

"_The Pharaoh attacking with Bakura's Diabound?" _Malik thought as he watched the silver fiend gather up more energy between its palms. "_I never thought I would get to see this...the apocalypse is nigh…_"

He wrenched himself out of his thoughts just in time to watch Diabound Colonel incinerate the orange ape into ashes with its Helical Shockwave, along with the Archfiend of Gilfer. But then, much to everyone's surprise, the Archfiend rematerialized once more and clasped onto the Big Koala this time. The gigantic animal barely flinched at this, but its face started to flush a little as sickness started to settle into its system. (ATK: 2,700/ DEF: 2,000) - (ATK: 2,200/ DEF: 2,000)

**(Yami and Bakura: 4,650 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 6,900 Life Points)**

"Huh?" Harry gasped. "What just happened? Did the Archfiend's effect activate again?"

"Yes!" Hermione exclaimed as she started to understand. "It's just as the Pharaoh said! Whenever the Archfiend of Gilfer is sent to the Graveyard, it can equip onto a Monster and weaken it! And even though it became an Equip Card, it was still technically destroyed when the Berserk Gorilla went down with it, so the Pharaoh was able to use its effect again and weaken the Big Koala this time!"

"Not only that," Yami picked up from where Hermione's explanation left off, "but since the original Attack Points of Berserk Gorilla were two-thousand, that becomes the new score for Diabound!"

True to his word, the fiend's stats rose upwards a little. (ATK: 1,800/ DEF: 1,200) - (ATK: 2,000/ DEF: 1,200)

"To proceed with my turn," Yami added, "I'll also set a Monster in Defence Mode. I think that will do for now."

Raquel picked up another card from her deck to refill her empty hand. But when she saw what it was, she immediately played it. "Spell Card, activate. Meteor of Destruction. Opponent receives one-thousand points of damage, plus three-hundred due to Dark Room of Nightmare."

Yami and Bakura had no time to react before a huge meteor made of burning orange flames formed from the air and crashed into them, sending them falling backwards until they dragged to a halt on the floor. Luckily for Yami, he was able to keep a grip on the one card left in his hand, and their Duel-Disks and decks were not harmed by the blast...but their Life Points were.

**(Yami and Bakura: 3,350 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 6,900 Life Points)**

/_Yami!_/Yugi cried out in fear as he knelt beside the Pharaoh. /_Other me, please tell me you're okay!_/

/_Bakura, get up!_/Ryou begged, also kneeling.

"End of turn," Raquel droned. It was almost as if she never noticed that Yami and Bakura had been sent crashing to the floor by her spell.

Wincing, Yami got to his feet, hoping that he and Bakura could survive this onslaught…for everyone's sakes.

OOO

The Shadows tingled with excitement and anticipation. They had been on edge ever since their masters had begun their duel against the Atlantian magic. The village of thieves had been breeched, and the spirits of Kul Elna were restless at the intrusion.

And now the Orichalcos was active, threatening the lives of the Item Bearers. The Shadows hissed, their anger apparent. They wanted in on this duel too. They were playing an Orichalcos duel, but this was a Shadow Game too thanks to all the magic in the chamber, and there were other magical forces at work too. It was time for the Shadows to play, and they had discovered an open pathway that they could explore…

OOO

Harry had felt helpless before. It was not a feeling he relished, but it certainly wasn't unfamiliar to him. He knew that the odds weren't good with Yami and Bakura's life points attached to one another, and he hated that he could do nothing to help.

It was rather strange to be a spectator in a battle. He had spent so long being the hero that watching someone else fighting the fight felt weird. He could understand now though how frustrated his friends must feel when he was in danger. But it didn't sit well with him. He didn't want to hang there from the wall and watch. He wanted to help, in whatever way he could.

"_Think," _he thought desperately. "_We're fighting the servants. We need to get to Voldemort himself."_

He looked around the room. The duellists stood on the dais before the Millennium Stone. He and the rest of the group were pinned on one of the walls against the mixture of hieratic and thieves code. There was no one else present.

"_He must be watching from somewhere," _Harry thought. "_That's how he was able to answer us when the duel began, and how he's able to control the duellists movements. But there's no one else here…"_

Once again, his eyes swept around the chamber. It was empty. Though there were plenty of shadows on the walls for people to hide in, he could not see the tall pale figure that was pulling the strings on this duel.

"_Where is he…?" _Harry thought in frustration. "_This doesn't make any sense…how is he watching?"_

His head gave another throb, and the answer hit him like a sack load of bricks.

"_He's watching through me," _Harry thought, in horror. "_I'm here…I'm watching everything…"_

How could he have forgotten in all this talk of spirits and possession that he had a connection to Voldemort's mind? It hadn't been touched since last June, but it was certainly enough to allow Voldemort a visual of what was going on. Though Voldemort couldn't possess his body, if Harry had been able to see what Voldemort was doing last year, then the Dark Lord could certainly observe through him now. _He _was how he could observe the entire duel, and how he had been able to project an answer to their questions. The pain in Harry's head that had been there since landing in the village now made a lot of sense.

Maybe there _was _something he could do to help. They needed to know what Voldemort needed souls for. If the connection was open, maybe he could try some snooping of his own.

Remembering what Bakura had told them about the history of this chamber, Harry began concentrating and hoping that all the magic in this room would be enough to help him…

OOO

A snarl escaped the Thief King's lips as he leapt back onto his feet and stormed back to his position on the duelling field. Without even stopping to ask after the Pharaoh, he ripped a card out of his deck and looked at it.

//_Damn it!_//he raged. //_Call of the Earthbound won't be of any help to me at all! Looks like it's time to risk my facedown card..._//

"I activate Multiple Destruction!" he barked out loud, and his Trap Card that was on the field flipped itself over in response. "Now we send all the cards in our hands to the Graveyard and draw five new ones from our decks! Of course, I take a hundred points of damage for every card I've discarded, plus three-hundred thanks to your Dark Room of Nightmare, but that's a risk I'll have to take!"

Yami had pulled himself back into a sitting position just in time to register Bakura's words. Again he felt a little relieved as he and the rest of the duellists replaced their hands. Despite the four-hundred points of damage he and Bakura had taken, they had once again gained a new variety of options to exploit.

**(Yami and Bakura: 2,950 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 6,900 Life Points)**

//_Heh heh heh heh..._//A grin cracked Bakura's lips upwards. //_Perfect! I haven't got to use this trick since Battle City, and it's the perfect method with which I can tear that oversized teddy bear into shreds!_//

"Next, I play one of my favourite Spell Cards!" he shouted. "Spiritualistic Medium! Since three cards were just sent to the Graveyard - two of mine and one of the Pharaoh's - I can empower the Attack Points of my Diabound by five-hundred for each until this turn's end! Which means that my Diabound Colonel gains fifteen-hundred more Attack Points!"

Some of the shadows swarming around the walls slunk away and converged all around Diabound, who was grinning with demonic glee. (ATK: 2,000/ DEF: 1,200) - (ATK: 3,500/ DEF: 1,200)

"Sweet!" Malik whooped. "Kick their asses Bakura!"

"No need to tell me twice, Malik!" Bakura called back to the Tomb Keeper, before swinging around again and placing another Monster Card onto his Disk. "Now, to continue my turn, I summon the Necro Jar in Attack Mode!"

A rusted pot with something inside its crevice rose up from underground and hovered beside Diabound. Something opened up inside the jar, revealing a revolting-looking eye with red cracks running all over it. (ATK: 1,100/ DEF: 300)

"Diabound Colonel, send that Big Koala back to Australia with Helical Shockwave!"

Diabound propelled another blast of energy forward, and it slammed into the Big Koala's chest and reduced both it and the Archfiend of Gilfer into a pile of smouldering ashes. As a side-effect of this, Diabound's original score changed again, with the bonus from Spiritualistic Medium being added to it afterwards. (ATK: 3,500/ DEF: 1,200) - (ATK: 4,200/ DEF: 1,200)

**(Yami and Bakura: 2,950 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 5,600 Life Points)**

"And this time, I'll elect to have the Archfiend of Gilfer stay in the Graveyard!" Bakura added, glancing at Yami to see him slipping his said Monster Card into his Disk's discard slot before returning his attention to the field. "Next, I'm going to have Necro Jar rid us of that annoying Giant Germ of yours! Necro Jar, attack!"

The Necro Jar blasted a yellow ray from its eyes, and it struck the hologram of Raquel's facedown Monster, reducing it to ashes as well. But then, two clones of the Giant Germ emerged from behind Raquel and rolled out onto her field. (ATK: 1,000/ DEF: 100) x 2

"Giant Germ's effect," the female Death Eater spoke. "Two more copies of it are summoned in Attack Mode, and opponent receives five-hundred points of damage. Then Dark Room of Nightmare activates again."

**(Yami and Bakura: 2,150 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 5,600 Life Points)**

"Yes, yes, see if I care," Bakura grumbled. "I end my turn with a new facedown card."

As soon as those words left his mouth, Diabound Colonel's bonus from the Spiritualistic Medium wore off, and the shadows underneath it went slithering back to their brethren on the walls. (ATK: 4,200/ DEF: 1,200) - (ATK: 2,700/ DEF: 1,200)

/_Wait, Bakura!_/Ryou intervened, earning him a confused look from the thief. /_Couldn't you have Flip Summoned the Pharaoh's Monster and attacked with it as well?_/

Bakura shook his head. //_No, and I have a good reason. If the Pharaoh could attack with it, he would have done that last turn. But he waited to summon it after attacking with Diabound, so I figured it wasn't cut out for attacking. Better to leave it in Defence Mode for now. I'll let him decide what to do with it later on._//

Angus added another card from his deck to his hand for his Draw Phase, and proceeded right to his first Main Phase. "Switch Giant Germs to Defence Mode," he said, and the two disease-ridden spheres lowered themselves a little closer to the ground. "Set two cards facedown, and a Monster in Defence Mode. End turn."

Yami drew and examined the six cards in his hand very closely.

/_We'd better be careful_/Yugi said. /_Who knows what Angus's facedown cards are. They could be very dangerous_/

//_We may have to risk it_//Yami sighed. //_Our Life Points are low enough as it is, and if we attack those Giant Germs..._//He paused in his statement when his eyes caught sight of a Spell Card he was holding. //_Wait! Wait a second! I just got an idea!_//

Quickly, he dropped two of his cards into his discard slot and held the third up. "I play the Spell Card, Magical Academy! Now by discarding two cards, I can Special Summon a Spellcaster-type Monster from my hand! However, if it's a high-level one, I'll need to offer up the sacrifices that would normally be required if I were Normal Summoning this Monster instead! So I now sacrifice my facedown Sangan, and summon my Dark Magician Girl!"

The facedown Monster on his side of the field disintegrated into a flurry of hearts and roses, all of which reformed into the buxom apprentice of the Dark Magician, her smile not wavering despite the uneasy darkness of the unlit room. (ATK: 2,000/ DEF: 1,700) - (ATK: 2,500/ DEF: 1,700)

"Since Dark Magician Girl was summoned by the effect of Magical Academy, her level is increased by two, and her Attack Points are raised by five-hundred!" Yami explained in response to his tag-team partner's confused look. "Also, since I sent Sangan to the Graveyard, I can add my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian from my deck to my hand as well!"

His deck spat out a card, and he caught it before it could fly out of his reach.

/_What is the Pharaoh up to?_/Ryou asked with utter confusion lacing his voice. /_If he attacks those Giant Germs, he'll just put our Life Points at a greater risk!_/

//_I swear, Pharaoh, if you mess this up..._//Bakura began to vow, but he stopped as another Spell Card materialized on Yami's field.

"Next, since Dark Magician Girl is a level eight Spellcaster now, I can activate Diffusion Wave-Motion!" the Pharaoh shouted. "This lets me pay one-thousand Life Points in order to have her strike down each and every one of your Monsters, at the cost of none of our other Monsters being allowed to attack this turn! Plus," he added as he glanced at the Giant Germs, "the effects of any of the Monsters destroyed by Dark Magician Girl this turn are negated thanks to Diffusion Wave-Motion, so what's left of our Life Points will be safe for the time being!"

**(Yami and Bakura: 1,150 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 5,600 Life Points)**

Dark Magician Girl's wand started to sputter with sparks like a firework's fuse. She gave a very mischievous grin and held her wand up high, awaiting the command to do away with the opposition she was staring down. And after a few seconds of silence, it soon came.

"Dark Magician Girl, destroy those Giant Germs and Angus's facedown Monster with Dark Diffusion Wave!"

"Pharaoh, wait!" Hermione yelled in protest, earning her a pair of frightened looks from Harry and Ron. "Those facedown cards! It's too much of a risk!"

"It's a risk worth taking, trust me!" Malik rebuked.

The Spellcaster let out a joyful yell and brandished her wand, sending out waves of blade-like energy that sliced through all three of the Death Eaters' Monsters and chopped them into shards. As the remains of the facedown Monster vanished, the ghostly image of a smaller koala, only with brownish fur instead of blue like Big Koala's, appeared in the air for a few seconds before vanishing again.

/_A Des Koala?!_/Yugi actually sounded very relieved as he identified Angus's defeated Monster. /_Thank the Gods that Diffusion Wave-Motion negated its effect and the Giant Germs'! We would have lost the duel otherwise!_/

Yami could not agree any more than he was right now even as he slid another card into a slot. "And with that, I'll end my turn with a facedown card," he stated.

"Uhm...Malik?" Ron asked the Tomb Keeper. "What was that Monster defending Angus?"

"A Des Koala," Malik answered. "And the Pharaoh's lucky he played Diffusion Wave-Motion, because if he hadn't, the koala's flip-effect would have inflicted four-hundred points of damage to both him and Bakura for every card they had in their hands. Since they had a combined total of more than three cards..."

He trailed off, not wanting to finish that statement. Everyone else seemed to catch on, though. Yami and Bakura had definitely lucked out, but as everyone hated to admit, it would not last forever.

"Draw." Raquel pulled another card into her replenished hand, and immediately selected the one in the middle. Everyone gasped as they saw the field slot on her Disk open up, and she placed the card inside it. "Activate...the Seal of Orichalcos."

Within an instant, the dark room was aglow with an evil green light as the six-pointed pentagram drew itself around Yami, Bakura, and the Death Eaters. The hoods on both Angus and Raquel's heads fell away, revealing that the Seal had been drawn onto their foreheads and their faces were suddenly twisted with malice, far from the neutral stares they once exhibited.

"It is time that we finished you off!" Raquel shouted, her emotionless drone now replaced by a very nasty tone. She jerked another card free from her hand and thrust it towards her opponents. "I activate the Spell Card, Restructor Revolution! This inflicts two-hundred points of damage to both of you for each card you've got in your hands, and since you both have a total of three, you'll lose six-hundred points, plus three-hundred more thanks to my Dark Room of Nightmare! In other words, you both will take nine-hundred points of damage, leaving you clinging to straws!"

The cards in the Pharaoh and Bakura's hands started to burn with flames...

"Hold on!" Yami yelled, taking Raquel by surprise. "I activate my facedown card, Bounce Spell!"

Suddenly, the flames on the cards in the spirits' hands were extinguished, and within seconds it was Raquel and Angus's cards that caught fire instead. The Death Eaters yelped in pain as the fire licked at their hands, and they hastily blew on their cards over and over, until the fire went out.

"What the Hell just happened?!" demanded Angus.

"I have to admit..." Bakura turned to stare at the Pharaoh. "I'd like to know that myself."

"I'll explain," chuckled Yami. "That was the effect of the facedown card I just activated. Bounce Spell allows me to absorb the effect of a Spell Card played by my opponent, and then redirect that effect right back at them. So instead of us taking two-hundred points of damage for every card in our hands, you and Angus receive that effect instead, Raquel. And from what I'm seeing, you both are holding a total of seven cards, so you take fourteen-hundred points of damage to your score."

**(Yami and Bakura: 1,150 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 4,200 Life Points)**

"Phew!" Ron slumped over in relief. "For a second, I thought that they were about to lose!"

"Don't do that to us again, you two!" Hermione exclaimed.

Raquel's face contorted into a sneer. "That was a lucky shot!" she snarled. "But don't think you're going to get that lucky again, Pharaoh! I still have plenty of tricks left!"

Yami scowled at her. "Then why don't you actually put them to good use rather than boast about them?"

"Your wish is my command!" Raquel replied. "And what better way to strike back than with the very card that would have beaten Kaiba if he hadn't lucked out at literally the last second? I activate my ultimate weapon...a Spell Card called Snatch Steal!"

The hologram of the dreaded Equip Spell materialized right beside Raquel, who let out an evil snicker as she chuckled.

"Oh no!" Kaiba's eyes widened in horror as he stared at the card. "Now she can steal control of one of their Monsters, and for as long as it sticks around, Raquel stays in control of that Monster!"

Yami reared up in shock. "What?! Impossible!"

"She's going to use that to steal my Diabound Colonel!" Bakura roared in anger. "You conniving little…"

"Oh, don't get your undies in a bunch, Bakura," Raquel jeered him. "I _could _steal your Diabound, yes...but I haven't forgotten his effect. If I were to have him destroy Dark Magician Girl or Necro Jar, his original Attack Score would change to equal theirs, thus weakening him. So instead..." An idea came home to her as she caught sight of the female Spellcaster. "Well, what a perfect idea! I know exactly what Monster to control - your precious Dark Magician Girl!"

The shadowy thief from the picture of her Snatch Steal sped out of its card and dove right into Dark Magician Girl's body. Her eyes suddenly glazed over as the phantom took hold of her soul, and she felt herself move towards her enemies' half of the field. As soon as she turned back around to face the Pharaoh, Yami was horrified to see the symbol of the Seal on her forehead. The dark magic had obviously taken control of her. (ATK: 2,500/ DEF: 1,700) - (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 1,700)

/_No..._/Yugi protested with a weak voice. /_Not again..._/

Yami didn't need to ask. He had hoped never to see that image again…

FLASHBACK

_In the centre of Death Valley, two mirror images stood facing each other. Only they were not true mirror images. Both had been changed by the events of the past few days. The normally self assured and confident of the two was lost and unsure of himself, while the normally shy and gentler one looked crazed and twisted by the effect of the Seal of Orichalcos which glowed on his forehead._

"_And now for my next move!" Yugi shouted. "I activate Monster Reborn, and I'll use it to bring back my Dark Magician Girl!"_

_The blonde sorceress reappeared, and Yami narrowed his eyes, his worry apparent on his face._

"_Then I'll summon my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian!" Yugi commanded, placing another card on his disk. The elf warrior in green and brown armour appeared._

"_Pharaoh!" Yugi taunted. "You know what happens next!"_

"_Stop this now!" Yami pleaded his partner._

"_Now the Orichalcos serves _my _monsters!" Yugi continued without listening. Sure enough, the green light shrouded both of Yugi's monsters, causing the evil mark to appear on both of their foreheads. Obnoxious Celtic Guardian scowled as he observed Yami, and Dark Magician Girl's normally sweet face morphed into one of pure malevolence…_

END FLASHBACK

/_Yami stop it!_/ Yugi shouted down the mindlink. Yami jumped. He had temporarily forgotten where he was.

//_I'm sorry Yugi_// he apologised. //_I had just hoped never to see that image again_//

/_I know_/ Yugi said. /_Raquel must have guessed we'd react like this_/

//_But how did she know?_// Yami thought back. //_No one knows about the duel between you and me except Tea, Chris and Ironheart. No one else was present_//

/_I don't know how she knows_/ Yugi agreed. /_Voldemort shouldn't have known either…_/

//_There's something else going on here_// Yami realised. //_There's something we've missed. Something or someone involved in this fight that we haven't realised yet…but who?_//

Neither of them had much time to ponder over it, as Raquel was still taking her turn.

/_We'll worry about that later_/ Yugi thought. /_Right now, we have a duel to win!_/

"I have to end my turn," Raquel mumbled as she gave the golden swords around her an irritated look. "But fortunately for us, this is the third of our End Phases after you've played your swords, so they go bye-bye!"

The cage of swords flickered and died, releasing the Death Eaters and Dark Magician Girl from their bindings. Yami heaved a sigh of relief; he had almost forgotten about them.

Bakura seemed to be thinking something along those lines as he drew his next card. This prompted Raquel to speak up again.

"By the way, Bakura, there's a little side-effect to my Snatch Steal," she growled. "During each of your Standby Phases, you both get one-thousand Life Points. Too bad I don't have my Bad Reaction to Simochi on the field to change that into damage...but if I must, I'll settle for taking your Life Points the hard way!"

**(Yami and Bakura: 2,150 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 4,200 Life Points)**

Bakura chose to keep his silence and glanced worriedly at his Diabound Colonel.

/_Okay, this is not looking _good/ Ryou voiced his thoughts. /_Even with Big Koala's original Attack Score, Diabound can't defeat Dark Magician Girl. And Necro Jar's far too weak!_/

//_Yes, but at least we have something to stall her for until we can get rid of either Dark Magician Girl or that blasted Snatch Steal_//said Bakura. //_Although, I'm still curious about Angus's facedown cards. He's made no effort to touch them ever since he set them, which obviously means one thing...he's waiting for something to happen._//

/_But what could it be?_/asked Ryou.

//_I wish I knew_//Bakura lamented. //_But let's just deal with the matter of holding off Dark Magician Girl until we can figure out what to do about her. If Angus's facedown cards become a problem, we'll try to think of something to deal with them_//

Having made his decision, he plucked the middle-left card out of his hand and played it. "I play the Equip Spell, Grief Tablet! By equipping this to a Monster, that Monster suffers the same effects as it would from the Pharaoh's Spellbinding Circle! In other words, Dark Magician Girl can neither attack nor alter her Battle Position!"

An ancient stone tablet sprouted out of the ground from behind Dark Magician Girl, who turned around to give it a curious look, only to be pulled towards the stone. As she came in contact with it, she vanished, but on the tablet an inscription modelled after the Spellcaster appeared.

Yami gave the tablet a sad glance, feeling that it was his fault that Dark Magician Girl had been inflicted with this fate. _"Forgive me..." _he mourned. _"But I promise, one way or another, I will set you free!"_

"By the way, something else I should point out," Bakura continued. "It _is _possible to destroy the Grief Tablet with any card effect, but should one of you manage to do so, it will cost you five-hundred Life Points. Not much of a price, but you never know how much of a difference it could make later on."

"Whatever," Raquel growled. "You're just stalling and it won't work."

"Now finish your move," Angus ordered. "The sooner you do, the sooner the Orichalcos can savour your soul."

"Bah, whatever!" Bakura barked back. "I'm moving Necro Jar to Defence Mode, and I also place another Monster facedown in Defence Mode to finish things up."

//_Not worth the risk for Necro Jar's effect_//he added mentally as his Necro Jar's eye closed and the jar itself lowered itself closer to the ground. //_Our Life Points are low enough as it is_//

"Then get ready to lose your precious Diabound Colonel!" Angus warned. "First, I draw!" He did so, and then pointed at his facedown cards. "Now, I think it's time to make use of one of these! I activate a Trap Card, Birthright! This allows me to raise a Normal Monster from my Graveyard, and I know just the perfect one to summon back! Let's all welcome my Big Koala once again!"

Yami grit his teeth and glared as the oversized koala rematerialized. It now sported the Seal's symbol on its huge forehead, and its eyes became tinted with red due to the magic's apparent effects. (ATK: 2,700/ DEF: 2,000) - (ATK: 3,200/ DEF: 2,000)

"But the fun doesn't stop there!" laughed Angus. "Next, I summon The Trojan Horse in Attack Mode!"

What appeared to be a replica of the legendary Trojan Horse from _The Iliad _galloped onto the field from outside the Seal. As the Orichalcos etched itself onto its forehead and lit up its small eyes, it let out a demonic neigh and a snort from its nostrils. (ATK: 1,600/ DEF: 1,200) - (ATK: 2,100/ DEF: 1,200)

"Now to activate a Continuous Spell Card of my own!" Another card's representing image shimmered into sight beside that of Raquel's still-active Dark Room of Nightmare. "It's a powerful one called Poison Fangs. Each time one of our Beast-type Monsters inflicts Battle Damage to you two, an additional five-hundred is dealt as well. And since that counts as Effect Damage, my partner's Dark Room of Nightmare will further strengthen that damage by three-hundred as long as both these cards remain active!"

Malik winced at this information. _"That's _gonna leave a mark..."

"But Bakura can't lose Diabound!" Hermione protested, staring at the thief's Ka in horror. "Without him, they might not win the duel!"

"And they'll barely have any Life Points left..." Kaiba growled under his breath. "This definitely isn't going well..."

Angus gave the doomed Diabound an evil leer. "It's only fair that my Big Koala gets his chance to avenge the humiliation that snake dealt to him, so let's not waste any time, shall we? Big Koala, smash up his Diabound!"

Diabound cringed in fear, but could only watch as the Big Koala advanced towards him with a raised paw...

"Oh no you fucking don't!" Bakura bellowed in rage, startling Angus a great deal. "I still have a facedown card left, and I plan to use it! Go Waboku, defend Diabound!"

The three robed priestesses emerged from his Trap Card and surrounded Diabound like a swarm. Big Koala ignored this and tried to slam its fist into the fiend, but one of the priestesses caught it and expelled a powerful force that knocked the animal back to Angus's side of the field. The Scotsman scowled.

"You're getting desperate, that's all," he snapped. "But you can't dodge us forever! I end my turn!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth did the Waboku priestesses vanish into thin air, indicating that their Trap Card's effect had expired. Yami took a moment to steady himself before he grabbed a card from his deck.

"First, we gain a thousand Life Points back thanks to your Snatch Steal, Raquel."

**(Yami and Bakura: 3,150 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 4,200 Life Points)**

"Then I play Pot of Greed, to draw two more cards from my deck!" That said, Yami slipped a card into his discard slot and swiped up two more. But his face fell when he discovered what they were.

//_Sage's Stone and Magician's Circle. The first would have done us some good if we hadn't lost Dark Magician Girl..._//

/_Well at least we have Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in our hand_/Yugi mused. /_He can protect us from Angus's Monsters until we can come up with something_/

//_Good point_//Yami nodded. //_I only hope that it works..._//

"Well, Pharaoh?" Raquel butted in rudely. "Are you going to do anything at all?"

Yami ignored her question and set two of his cards on his Disk. "I'll place a Monster in Defence Mode, and a facedown card as well," he said. "Then I'll switch Bakura's Diabound Colonel to Defence Mode and end my turn there."

Diabound lowered himself back into his defensive position and folded his arms across his chest, while the snake-half of his body hissed angrily at the Big Koala and Trojan Horse to show its contempt for them.

"Ah, getting scared to fight on, Pharaoh?" Raquel taunted as she took her turn. "Well, when you're facing down a team of Monsters who all have more than two-thousand points each, I'd be pretty scared too!"

"Are you going to talk till you're blue in the face or are you actually going to duel?" Bakura inquired obnoxiously.

Raquel threw him a dirty look. "You're far from a position to talk like that, especially when we're the ones kicking ass here! Allow me to cement that point firmly into your mind! Big Koala, complete your revenge and crush his pathetic Diabound Colonel right before his very eyes!"

Bakura forced himself to look away so that he wouldn't have to see Diabound getting smashed up by the Big Koala. But the terrible screams that belonged to his Ka still penetrated his eardrums, making him flinch a little. When he dared to look again, he was thankful to see that his Diabound had vanished, no longer suffering from the Big Koala's wrath.

"Well, I hope I've made my point clear," Raquel chuckled with smugness plastered all over her face. "Now then, who to destroy next...let's see..." Her eyes flicked back and forth between the three defending Monsters in front of her as she thought long and hard on her decision. Then she locked her gaze on the Necro Jar. "Let's go with that one, shall we? Trojan Horse, attack it!"

The Trojan Horse galloped forward - though its movement was a bit rusty since it was made of wood and all - and stomped the Necro Jar into broken shards of clay. The onlookers expected to see the ghoul with the eyeball exposed now that the jar was gone, but much to their relief nothing was left behind by the jar's destruction. Of course, it didn't improve Bakura's situation any.

"Now, I'll end my turn with a facedown card," Raquel finished. "But seriously, you two, you're starting to become an annoyance. Why not just surrender yourselves to the Seal peacefully and spare yourselves further pain?"

Bakura spat on the ground and yanked out a card from his Disk with frightening force. "I'd rather lose to the skinny-assed Pharaoh than surrender to you! Besides, if you recall, your Snatch Steal empowers us with some more Life Points! It would seem that your own Spell Card is turning against you now that I've rendered Dark Magician Girl powerless!"

**(Yami and Bakura: 4,150 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 4,200 Life Points)**

"They're nearly even again!" Harry cheered, breaking out of his concentration temporarily. "They may have a chance, after all!"

Raquel smirked at the Boy Who Lived before pressing a button on her Disk. "I'm afraid you're going to be mistaken in your assumption, Potter, because I'm activating my Dust Tornado Trap Card to get rid of that bothersome Grief Tablet! So Dark Magician Girl isn't as powerless as you may think!"

Another tornado blew into the chamber and slammed right into the tablet with Dark Magician Girl's picture on it. The tablet broke down into shards that rained down all over the cringing Death Eaters, but the real Dark Magician Girl herself - with the Seal still on her forehead - reemerged from the wreckage and flew back out onto the field, scowling at the thief with Orichalcos-induced hatred.

"Argh..." Bakura growled at this sudden turnaround. "But at least you lose five-hundred points since you destroyed Grief Tablet..."

**(Yami and Bakura: 4,150 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 3,700 Life Points)**

"A small price to pay to free a powerful servant," Raquel scoffed, waving off Bakura's words. "Now, I believe you were going to make your move."

Bakura looked down at the card he held in his right hand...and smirked victoriously.

"From my Graveyard, I shall remove my Sangan, Earthbound Spirit, and Doomcaliber Knight from the game!" he declared. "Thus allowing me to Special Summon my Dark Necrofear in Defence Mode!"

As he pulled three cards out of his Graveyard and pocketed them, an inferno of black flames exploded into life beside the two facedown Monsters crowding one half of the field. From the fire, Dark Necrofear stepped forth, cradling her baby doll in her arms and glaring at the Death Eaters with evil red eyes. She knelt down on one knee. (ATK: 2,200/ DEF: 2,800)

"Yes!" Ron looked quite relieved to see the demoness. "Bakura's best Monster! Now he can turn things in his favour!"

"I wish he could, Ron..." Malik muttered, shaking his head. "Because sadly, Dark Necrofear may not be enough."

Ron was a little surprised by that comment. "Now why do you say that?"

"It's true that Dark Necrofear can take control of an opposing Monster at the end of the Battle Phase in which she's destroyed," Malik elaborated. "However, once that happens, the possessed Monster is dragged to Bakura's side of the field, and the Seal has no effect there..."

"So when Bakura takes one of their Monsters, it'll lose the bonus it gets from the Seal!" Hermione gasped in horror as she figured out what Malik was getting at. "Regardless of whether he gets back Dark Magician Girl or Big Koala, they'll still have a Monster that's weaker!"

//_True_//Bakura agreed in his mind. //_But I still have a plan, assuming my suspicions are correct..._// He cast the slightest hint of a glance in Yami's direction. The Pharaoh was looking hopefully at Dark Magician Girl, for some reason.

"I'll end my turn now," the thief said out loud.

Angus drew and gave the Dark Necrofear an annoyed look. "You just wasted your time summoning that thing! It's a weakling compared to our Monsters, including the next one I'm about to summon! But first...let us turn our attention to my Trojan Horse, shall we?"

Bakura rolled his eyes and pretended to take interest in The Trojan Horse. "Yeah, what about it? He can't threaten Dark Necrofear."

"Oh, but he can." Angus started to grin like a maniac. "You see, The Trojan Horse has a very powerful effect. If I'd like to summon a high-level Earth Monster that requires two sacrifices, I can treat the horse as the needed double sacrifice. Just like Kaiser Sea Horse can for Light Monsters!"

/_That must mean..._/Yugi began.

//_He can't be doing what I think he is!_//Yami exclaimed as a sudden twinge of fear rocked his stomach. //_Not now!_//

"So I activate that effect now!" the Scotsman cackled. "I sacrifice my Trojan Horse in order to summon Behemoth, the King of All Animals!"

The Trojan Horse evaporated into a mist of sparks, all of which congealed into one and formed into a massive shape. As it finished forming, a loud bellow shook the room as the Monster's details became perfectly clear - a four-legged creature with a rough hide of purple skin and a wild mane of bluish-purple hair. The Seal etched itself onto the beast's forehead, causing its fangs to turn a little demonic like its eyes. (ATK: 2,700/ DEF: 1,500) - (ATK: 3,200/ DEF: 1,500)

A horrified outburst escaped Malik's lips before the Tomb Keeper could hold them back. _"Two _Monsters with thirty-two hundred Attack Points each?!"

"Holy crap!" Bakura spluttered, unable to take his eyes off Behemoth. "And people say _my_ Monsters are creepy!"

"If you think he's quite a looker now, wait till you see his special ability!" snickered Angus. "Once he's Tribute Summoned, he adds Beast-type Monsters from my Graveyard to my hand...however, I can only take up to an amount equal to the number of sacrifices I made to call forth this beast. And even though The Trojan Horse counted as two sacrifices, it's still technically one tribute, so I get only one Beast Monster back. And I choose my Des Kangaroo!"

His Dark Mark Duel-Disk seemed to respond to his words, for it immediately spat out his desired card. Angus grinned and added it to his hand.

"Wait a minute!" Yami protested. "Des Kangaroo? Since when was that card in your Graveyard?"

"Since I discarded it with Multiple Destruction," Angus responded. "And trust me, he'll have his uses later, right before I bring about your demise..."

The duellists and the captives did _not _like the way Angus was grinning when he spoke those words.

"But now, if we may proceed," said Angus. "Who to attack first...ah, I know! Behemoth, chow down on Bakura's Dark Necrofear! It's lunchtime!"

Nobody saw the faintest shadow of a triumphant smirk passing over Bakura's face as the King of All Animals pounced on his Dark Necrofear and sunk its fangs into her. Amazingly enough, Dark Necrofear kept her calm stature while the Monster clawed away at her, until she dissolved into a speck of darkened fire and disappeared.

"Big Koala, attack the facedown Monster on the right!" Angus commanded, pointing a finger at Bakura's concealed Monster.

The oversized koala got down on all four of its limbs and ran forward like a dog. It trampled the facedown Monster into pixels, and Bakura glared with anger and slid his Souls of the Forgotten into his Graveyard.

"One more to go!" Angus said gleefully. "Dark Magician Girl, attack your former master's facedown Monster! Dark Burning Attack!"

Dark Magician Girl took aim with her wand and sent another sphere of crackling pink magic towards her master's Monster, which flipped up to reveal the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian. The elf dodged aside just as the attack approached, leaving it to slam into the ground and dissipate. (ATK: 1,400/ DEF: 1,200)

"Obnoxious Celtic Guardian is immune to battle against Monsters that have nineteen-hundred or more Attack Points," Yami sighed in relief. "You'll have to do better than that."

"I can't right now, unfortunately," Angus grumbled. "I have to end my turn..."

Bakura grinned again. "Did you just say that you ended your turn, Angus?"

"Yes, I did, so..." Angus trailed off when he caught sight of something odd. "What the?!"

For now, there was a familiar shadow hovering behind the thief...in the form of Dark Necrofear. The demoness cracked a small grin and flew towards Dark Magician Girl, grabbing her in a chokehold as she approached. The Spellcaster grunted and tried to fight her off, but Dark Necrofear succeeded in dragging her back to the Pharaoh's side of the field with ease.

"What have you done?!" Angus screamed angrily, his jaw clenching from his fury and surprise.

"It's not what _I've _done..." chuckled Bakura. "It's what _you've _done! Since you've destroyed Dark Necrofear, she stole control of a Monster on your side of the field when you moved to your End Phase. And as you can see, I've chosen Dark Magician Girl."

The Seal vanished from Dark Magician Girl's forehead. She blinked and looked around, and was surprised to find herself in a chokehold from Dark Necrofear. After much struggling and resisting, she broke herself free and flew down to her master with tears in her eyes. Yami just gave her a warm smile.

"It's all right, Dark Magician Girl," he assured her. "All that matters to me is that you're back with us now. You can thank Bakura for that." He took a moment to nod his thanks to Bakura, who rolled his eyes and scowled.

"Don't take it the wrong way," the thief grumbled. "I only chose her because I figured you might have some sort of plan involving her. If I'm wrong, then so help me..."

"Are you through with your little talk, gentlemen?!" Angus snarled, earning the attention of Dark Magician Girl and the spirits again. "It's your move, Pharaoh! Make it already so we can finish you off!"

Dark Magician Girl glared at Angus and reassumed her position on the field. At once Dark Necrofear moved forward to grab her again, but backed away when she received a vicious scowl from the Spellcaster. When the demoness saw that she was planning to stay where she was, she decided to give up any efforts of restraining her and watched her from beside Bakura instead. (ATK: 3,000/ DEF: 1,700) - (ATK: 2,500/ DEF: 1,700)

"As you wish, Angus!" Yami exclaimed. "First, I draw!" He snapped another card from his deck free and glanced at Raquel. "Next, even though Dark Magician Girl's back on our side, your Snatch Steal is still equipped to her, so we receive another boost of Life Points!"

**(Yami and Bakura: 5,150 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 3,700 Life Points)**

"And that makes a difference...how?" Raquel asked dryly.

"That won't, but the fact that Bakura helped me get back Dark Magician Girl will!" Yami replied. "First, however, I'm going to activate Card of Sanctity! Now we each draw until we hold six cards in our hands!"

With that, all four of the duellists started pulling cards from their decks, stopping when their hand sizes reached six. Yami fanned out his cards and looked them over. He smirked as a strategy came to mind, and he snatched up the other card he had drawn with Pot of Greed.

"Next, since Dark Magician Girl is back on our side of the field, I can play the Sage's Stone! Now I can Special Summon Dark Magician from my deck!"

Dark Magician Girl yanked off her hat, fished around inside it, and pulled out the bright-green gem before flinging it into the air. It crashed back onto the ground and exploded, issuing gleaming purple smoke onto the field, and the Dark Magician leapt out of it and performed an acrobatic frontflip to propel himself forward so that he landed beside his apprentice. (ATK: 2,500/ DEF: 2,100)

"I _never _thought I would be happy to see that bloody priest on our side..." Bakura muttered. "Summoning him had better be worthwhile though, Pharaoh..."

"It's going to be, don't worry," Yami chuckled at him. Then he turned to face the Death Eaters again while thrusting another card forward. "For on this turn, I am about to call forth the greatest Spellcaster Monster ever to reside within this deck! He's so powerful, that in order to summon him I'll need to sacrifice two other Spellcasters on the field, both of which need to be at level six or higher!"

Malik suddenly started grinning like he just got a Christmas present. "Ooooooooh yeah..." he giggled. "I can't _wait _to see this!"

Kaiba's eyes had gone wide too. _Is he summoning what I _think _he's summoning?!_

But the Hogwarts students all looked confused.

"Erm...Malik, what are you getting excited about?" Ron asked.

"Just watch and you'll see!" Malik advised while still grinning. "You're gonna love this, I'm sure!"

"Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, I sacrifice you both!" Yami declared. "Merge your life forces together to bring forth your mentor!"

His two magicians became consumed by rising steams of black smoke, and the winds started to pick up speed yet again. Bakura started gawking at this growing development. He did not even notice Dark Necrofear vanishing back into his Graveyard since Dark Magician Girl was no longer on the field.

//_He's summoning...him?! No way!_//he yelled in his mindlink. //_Impossible!_//

/_He's actually going to summon him!_/Ryou looked very excited and hopeful now. /_We may yet turn this around!_/

"Appear..." Yami's eyes seemed to burn with light as he screamed the name. _"Sorceror of Dark Magic!"_

The smoke exploded outwards, and a new magician clad in black with a long flowing cape strode forth and fixed his bright-blue eyes on the shocked Death Eaters. His staff was black as well, and a blue orb that crackled with lightning was engraved onto its tip. A feeling of powerful authority emitted from this being in waves. (ATK: 3,200/ DEF: 2,800)

Angus and Raquel stumbled backwards a little, wanting to increase the distance between themselves and the sorcerer...but then they noticed the new arrival's stats and looked relieved.

"You overlooked something, Pharaoh!" Raquel laughed. "That Monster is equal in strength to both of my partner's! If you attack, you'll just lose your magician!"

"Not quite, Raquel..." Yami looked at another Spell Card in his hand and smiled. "You forget, I still have some cards left to play. And now I equip one to my Sorceror of Dark Magic! Go, Mage Power!"

An aura surrounded the black-clad sorcerer's body, changing colour rapidly with each passing second. His staff started crackling so much as the magic coursed through it, that it was like a lightning rod. (ATK: 3,200/ DEF: 2,800) - (ATK: 4,200/ DEF: 3,800)

"This can't be!" Angus screamed. "Now he's stronger than both of my Monsters!"

"This was not supposed to happen!" Raquel screeched. "We had you two cornered!"

"You should never assume that you've won until the duel has ended!" Yami retaliated. He fixed his angry crimson eyes on the Big Koala. "Now, I will avenge Joey by destroying that creature in his place, once and for all! Sorceror of Dark Magic, attack Big Koala with Celestial Blast!"

Sorceror of Dark Magic thrust his staff forward and released a raging inferno upon the helpless Big Koala. The animal cringed and let out a pained roar, which ceased as it was incinerated into ashes.

//_That was for you, Joey..._//Yami thought.

**(Yami and Bakura: 5,150 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 2,700 Life Points)**

"They're winning!" Malik celebrated.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," said Kaiba. "Angus and Raquel still have Life Points left. It's too soon to say it's over."

Malik sulked a little, knowing that the CEO had a point.

Raquel was shaking with fright even as she drew again. But when she saw what she drew, she relaxed a little and set it on her Disk.

"First, I'll place this Monster in Defence Mode," she said, before plugging in another card. "And then I'll play a card you may recall Makira using: Poison of the Old Man! And I'm going to use the effect that raises our Life Points by twelve-hundred!"

The robed old man from her Spell Card's picture materialized beside her and handed her a vial filled with green liquid. Raquel snatched it up and forced the liquid down her throat, not even caring for the putrid taste of it. When she finished, she shoved the vial back into the man's hands, and he nodded and disappeared.

**(Yami and Bakura: 5,150 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 3,900 Life Points)**

"Don't you ever know when to quit?" Bakura complained.

"Shut up!" Raquel retorted. "Now, to end my turn, I switch Behemoth the King of All Animals to Defence Mode!"

The gigantic Behemoth looked angered by this decision, but as it had no choice, it reluctantly crouched down on its hind legs and braced itself.

"Your loss," Bakura shrugged, drawing his next card. "Guess I'll just have to take you out the hard way! To start my turn, I play Silent Doom! This allows me to Special Summon a Normal Monster from my Graveyard in Defence Mode, so I think you'll recognize who's coming back..."

The beheaded phantom in white armour materialized for a third time. It got down on a kneeling position and held up its shield again. (ATK: 1,450/ DEF: 1,700)

"You forgot one thing, Bakura," Angus interrupted. "The Monster summoned by Silent Doom is not allowed to attack at all."

"But Headless Knight isn't going to attack," Bakura grinned. "I'm going to fuse him with the Earl of Demise in my hand by playing the Spell Card, Polymerization!"

The spectral figure of a muddy-looking ghost dressed in a red nobleman's outfit and carrying a rapier appeared beside the Headless Knight, and the two started to melt into one another, becoming a murky fog that spread around the thief's field...

Bakura's voice could be heard over the issuing of the fog. "Come forth...The Duke of Demise!"

The smoke finally cleared away to reveal a new figure. It was a floating skeleton dressed in a duke's outfit and a cloak, and it carried a rapier similar to the Earl of Demise's. But while it had a skull for a head, a pair of wicked eyes could be seen from inside it. (ATK: 2,000/ DEF: 1,700)

Ron cringed at the mere sight of the ghost. "Good God, do Bakura's Monsters always have to be so creepy?!"

"What, you expected _anything _from Bakura that wouldn't be creepy?" Malik asked dryly.

"Sorceror of Dark Magic, attack Behemoth the King of All Animals!" Bakura ordered. "Celestial Blast!"

Sorceror of Dark Magic did not look happy about taking an order from Bakura, but he went ahead and shot another blast of fiery magic at the King of All Animals. Behemoth managed to gather enough strength to bellow one final roar at the sorcerer before it was reduced to cinders.

"Now for Raquel's Monster!" Bakura said to his Duke of Demise. "Cut it up like butter!"

The Fusion Monster raised its sword and flew forward. As soon as it came within striking distance and swung down with its weapon, the Spirit Reaper materialized and dodged aside so that it struck the floor instead. The Duke of Demise looked very disappointed at this, and slowly flew back to its enraged master, who started swearing loudly in his head. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 200) - (ATK: 800/ DEF: 200)

//_Fucking Spirit Reaper!_//Bakura ranted. //_I can't fucking believe this! We were just about to win! Ra damn it all!_//

Ryou winced at the explosive cursing streaming through their mindlink. /_Bakura, pull yourself together!_/he implored. /_It's easy to get rid of that Spirit Reaper! All we have to do is target it with any card effect and it'll be gone!_/

Bakura glared at his three remaining cards. //_And I don't _have _such a card in my hand! It could take a long time for us to draw one, and by then Angus and Raquel might have turned things around!_//

/_Yami might have an idea, though..._/Ryou's gaze turned towards the Pharaoh. /_We just have to trust him_/

Bakura didn't bother to regard the advice and turned his attention to Angus instead. "I end my turn!" he snarled.

"And I shall take mine!" the Scotsman replied, and he drew his card to begin his turn. Then he cast the elven warrior a sneer. "Before I do anything else, I'm going to get rid of your Celtic Guardian so that it doesn't block us any further. I play Shield Crush, which can destroy a Monster in Defence Mode. Naturally I choose your Guardian!"

Green energy rose up around the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian like a pillar. The warrior had only enough time to look surprised before the energy ripped him to pixels. It tugged at the Pharaoh's heartstrings as he watched his Monster's demise.

"By the way, Pharaoh..." The sneer on Angus's face changed into a smirk of triumph. "I should thank you for playing that Card of Sanctity. Because of that, you've given me the means to unleash my ultimate weapon! When combined with the Orichalcos, nothing can stand in the way of the most powerful Beast-type Monster in this game!"

The words rocked Yami to his core, but he kept his composure. "And just what do you mean by that?"

"You're about to find out," Angus chuckled. "But first things first..." He plugged a card into a slot. "I'm going to take a page from Bakura's book and use Silent Doom myself, so that I can bring back my Big Koala!"

As his Dark Mark Disk glowed with a small light, the Big Koala erupted back onto his field with a loud roar. It sat down on its behind and clenched its fists, as if daring somebody to come and challenge it. The Seal drew itself onto its forehead again, but the koala gave no reaction to this. (ATK: 2,700/ DEF: 2,000) - (ATK: 3,200/ DEF: 2,000)

"What are you, a copycatter?" snapped Bakura. "And besides that, why bother bringing back Big Koala with Silent Doom, especially when it's no match for the Sorceror of Dark Magic? And even if it were, it can't attack since you used Silent Doom to resurrect it."

For answer, Angus showed the thief his own copy of the Polymerization card. Bakura just rolled his eyes at this. "Oh, come on. Can't you be original, Angus?"

"Bakura, it might not be wise to provoke him..." Yami muttered.

"Trust me, Bakura..." Angus played his Spell Card and slipped two Monster Cards into his Graveyard, with one of them being his Big Koala. "What I'm about to do will be _completely _original. I'm using Polymerization to fuse together Big Koala and the Des Kangaroo I added to my hand not long ago, to summon the instrument of your demise!"

Kaiba was astonished by his words. _No way...if Angus is summoning _that _creature, then..._

Malik seemed to realize what was about to occur as well. "Uhm, guys, you might want to brace yourselves!" he hurriedly advised the three Gryffindors. "This is about to get very unpleasant!"

"Really?" Ron muttered sarcastically. "As if it wasn't unpleasant enough from the beginning..."

Back inside the Seal, a new ghostly was appearing beside the Big Koala. It looked like a kangaroo with green fur, dressed in a purple vest and wearing box gloves. Both it and the Big Koala became enveloped by light and started congealing into each other, causing a powerful light to spill out onto the field. Yami and Bakura flinched from the light and covered their eyes. So did their hikaris.

/_What's going on?!_/Yugi and Ryou both cried out in unison.

//_I don't even want to find out!_//both Yami and Bakura followed suit.

After what felt like almost twenty seconds, the light let up enough for the yami's to lower their arms and examine the field again. What they saw left their jaws hanging somewhere near the floor...

Standing in place of the Big Koala and the Des Kangaroo was what indeed looked like a true fusion. It resembled the Big Koala, who now sported green skin and the Des Kangaroo's boxing equipment, purple vest included, and it also wore a pair of damaged shoes. The beast was so huge, its head was very close to scratching the ceiling. It was a wonder that it could fit inside the Seal without crushing any of the duellists.

"Behold my ultimate Monster!" Angus crowed, holding out his arms as if to receive an embrace. "The legendary Master of Oz!"

Then the Seal of Orichalcos flared into life on the Master of Oz's forehead, tinting its eyes an evil red. It started to give off what sounded like guttural growls as it punched its fists together. (ATK: 4,200/ DEF: 3,700) - (ATK: 4,700/ DEF: 3,700)

"What in the world _is _that thing?!" Hermione screamed, her eyes now very wide from her intensifying fear.

"I dunno!" Ron squeaked. "But it sure doesn't look friendly!"

As for the yamis themselves, Bakura was having a different fear about the Master of Oz. "Holy Ra...forty-seven hundred Attack Points..." he whispered. "That's stronger than even Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon..."

Angus picked up on the audible whispers, though. "That's precisely the point!" he boasted. "Now that I've infused him with the Orichalcos, the Master of Oz cannot be bested in combat by anybody! Not even your Sorceror of Dark Magic, Pharaoh!"

"He's right!" Malik gave the black-clad sorcerer a frantic look. "If only Bakura had thought to play another Spell or Trap Card facedown, the Sorceror of Dark Magic would be able to compete with that thing in a head-to-head fight!"

"No backseat duelling!" Bakura bellowed, but he didn't say it with much force, for he knew that the Tomb Keeper's words rang true.

"But you know..." Angus sounded thoughtful as he continued to speak. "While I _could _crush your magician for some fun, Pharaoh...I have something even better in mind. I think I'm going to play another Spell Card...the very card that made my Big Koala strong enough to crush your pathetic Wheeler friend!"

"What card?!" Yami demanded.

"This!" Angus fiercely slammed another card into his Disk with such force, the card almost bent. "I play a second copy of Wild Nature's Release!"

Yami and Bakura felt their senses freeze upon these words. An aura of warped light started emitting from the Master of Oz's body as its Attack Points began blasting up through the roof, until it stopped at an amount that was almost too much for words. (ATK: 4,700/ DEF: 3,700) - (ATK: 8,400/ DEF: 3,700)

"...okay, I recant my previous statement..." That was all Malik could think of saying in response to this.

"And now, to finish up this duel!" Angus bellowed. "Master of Oz, attack the Duke of Demise and deliver their souls to the Orichalcos! Outback Fury!"

Kaiba quickly did the mental math in his forehead and just about gasped. "If this attack goes through, Yugi and Bakura lose!"

Before anybody else could scream in terror, the Master of Oz thrust a huge first forwards, and it crashed into Bakura's Duke of Demise, creating an explosion that threw up smoke all around the chamber. The captives were rendered speechless as they watched in horror. They didn't even hear Angus and Raquel cackling like mad people...

In the midst of the smoke, Bakura fell to his knees in disgrace. He was in a huge state of shock. He and Yami had lost the duel...and now they would pay the price...so would the entire world...

But then he heard a shout of relief from his hikari.

/_Bakura, look!_/Ryou exclaimed. /_Look at our Duel-Disk!_/

Bakura glanced at him, and noticed that his hikari was pointing a finger at their - Duel-Disk. Puzzled by this, the thief followed the finger's path and saw his Life Point counter. His eyes just about bugged out when he saw the information on it.

**(Yami and Bakura: 5,150 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 3,900 Life Points)**

_"Our Life Points didn't budge?!" _he yelled. _"But that doesn't make sense! The Duke of Demise was in Attack Mode, and..."_

Then he heard a cooing noise and looked up. The smoke had cleared away from the chamber, and there was an army of brown furballs crowded around the winded Duke of Demise, who had somehow been able to survive the Master of Oz's attack.

"WHAT IN BLAZES?!" Angus screamed, his eyes looking ready to come flying out of their sockets as he gawked at the furballs. "THIS CAN'T BE!"

Raquel was evidently as surprised as her partner. "How is this possible?! That attack was supposed to have crushed that corpse _and _exterminate the rest of your Life Points! What is going on?!"

Bakura slowly looked away from the furballs and stared at the Pharaoh. Only then did he notice that Yami was grinning and holding up a card with its picture turned towards the Death Eaters. It was Kuriboh.

"You can thank my Kuriboh for that," Yami chuckled. "I sent it to the Graveyard right when the attack connected in order to reduce all the damage from that attack to zero. So our Life Points are spared, and this duel is still on!"

He placed the Kuriboh card into his discard slot, which in turn caused the furballs on the field to vanish one by one, until all of them were gone. Bakura felt himself shaking his head.

//_I _never _thought that I would be grateful that the Pharaoh has those gerbils in his deck..._//he thought. //_They actually saved us from losing our souls..._//

Angus began snarling like an enraged wolf. "How _dare _you?!" he roared. "How dare you insult my ultimate Monster with that sorry excuse for a Duel Monster! You will regret ever having done what you just did, Pharaoh!"

"Yeah, well forget about that!" Raquel cut across his oath of revenge. "It still doesn't explain why that corpse is still there!"

"That's the Duke of Demise's special ability," Bakura explained, though his lips still felt a little numb from the astonishment shooting through him. "It can't be destroyed in battle, much like your Spirit Reaper. Except that simply targeting the Duke with a card effect won't get rid of him."

The captives all exhaled with relief.

"Man, that was too close!" Malik burst out. "Nice save there, Pharaoh!"

"And since your Wild Nature's Release automatically destroys the affected Monster at the end of the turn you've used it," Yami reminded Angus while keeping the grin on his face, "it would seem as if you've backed yourself into a corner. You got reckless, and that is what will cause your defeat and Raquel's. I presume you are about to end your turn?"

Angus glared at the Pharaoh for a moment longer before forcing himself to speak. "Yes. I end my turn."

The words set off what could be compared to an explosion, for at that moment the Master of Oz let out a pained howl and grabbed its forehead as if it was preparing to explode. Its body emitted a blinding yellow light, and then it broke apart from the inside, until it was nothing more than a storm of its body parts scattering all over the floor of the chamber. The captives cringed with disgust, save for Kaiba who was not easily perturbed by such sights.

"Ugh, disgusting!" Hermione shrieked. She wished she could cover up her nose to block out the horrid stench, but with her hands still bound to the wall it wasn't possible.

"Try not to worry about it!" Ron suggested, even though he too was wrinkling his nose with disgust. "At least the Master of Oz is gone!"

"Precisely," Kaiba said, smirking at the enraged Scotsman. "That was exactly how Angus wound up losing to me in our duel after he defeated Wheeler. Turns out he didn't learn from his past mistake, and now it's about to cost him."

Yami was in full agreement with the CEO. He drew from his deck and was about to declare a summoning, but the long-forgotten remaining facedown card on Angus's field lifted up before he could.

"You thought my Master of Oz would be staying gone that easily?" laughed Angus. "Hardly! I had my Call of the Haunted prepared for such an occasion! Now my Master of Oz is-"

A sudden burst of fire erupted around his Call of the Haunted and eroded it into ashes, cutting off the rest of what Angus was about to say. Everyone turned to see Sorceror of Dark Magic grinning at the stunned Scottish Death Eater.

"You really should have attacked my Sorceror of Dark Magic when you had the chance instead of getting arrogant, Angus," Yami criticized. "He has the ability to negate any Trap Cards that I please. So your Call of the Haunted failed to activate, and your Master of Oz stays in the Graveyard!"

Angus looked livid. Bakura resisted the temptation to burst out laughing and throw insults at him.

/_Nice call, Pharaoh!_/Yugi burst out happily. /_I had forgotten that Angus still had a facedown card left!_/

//_So did I_//Yami told him. //_Thankfully Sorceror of Dark Magic was still here to stop it_//

"Power always comes with a price," he said to the Death Eaters. "If you're not prepared to face the consequences for seizing great power for yourself, it will cost you in the end. Speaking of which, during our Standby Phases, Bakura and I must pay five-hundred Life Points to keep The Duke of Demise on the field. I choose to pay that cost."

**(Yami and Bakura: 4,650 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 3,900 Life Points)**

"A waste of Life Points if you ask me," Raquel commented. "You forget, you still can't get past my Spirit Reaper. So despite Master of Oz's death, we're still safe."

"Perhaps, but until then, I'm going to erect a defensive barrier of our own!" Yami countered. "To begin, I summon Magician's Valkyria in Attack Mode!"

The younger brown-haired sister of Dark Magician Girl appeared on the cursed arena and gave the Spirit Reaper her usual stern scowl. (ATK: 1,600/ DEF: 1,800)

"Attack Spirit Reaper!" commanded Yami. "Mystic Scepter Blast!"

Bakura looked very confused. "Pharaoh, what are you doing?" he asked. "That won't work!"

Magician's Valkyria twirled her staff and started to charge up magical energy at its tip, but she paused in her tracks when she heard the sound of a card raising upwards. She twisted around to find that Yami's facedown card had activated.

"Now I activate Magician's Circle!" declared Yami. "Since I attacked with a Spellcaster-type Monster, all players can now Special Summon a Spellcaster of their own in Attack Mode, for as long as it has two-thousand or fewer Attack Points!"

"I don't have one!" Angus growled.

"Neither do I..." his partner grumbled.

"I used to have a Spellcaster in my deck, but I took it out recently," said Bakura.

"I assume you mean Jowgen the Spiritualist," Yami predicted. He got a nod from the thief in response. "Well I should thank you for removing him, it would have hindered me from Special Summoning my Sorceror of Dark Magic or any other Monsters."

"Whatever," grumbled Bakura. "Just summon your Monster and let's get on with it."

Yami shrugged, yanked out a card from his deck, and slapped it on his Disk. "Since none of you have Spellcasters in your decks, that simply means only I gain this effect! So I shall summon my second Valkyria!"

A twin of Magician's Valkyria glided out of his Trap Card and alighted herself beside the first one, who looked a little astonished to see that she had a twin. But she gave her a welcoming nod to hide her surprise. (ATK: 1,600/ DEF: 1,800)

"Of course, since my Trap Card now goes to the Graveyard, my Sorceror of Dark Magic loses five-hundred Attack and Defence Points. But like with The Duke of Demise, it's a small price to pay."

The Sorceror of Dark Magic's aura weakened slightly as his scores decreased according to the Pharaoh's explanation. (ATK: 4,200/ DEF: 3,800) - (ATK: 3,700/ DEF: 3,300)

"Why'd the Pharaoh do that?" Ron asked, his eyebrows raised from his confusion.

"To create a lockdown!" Malik laughed. "See, with Magician's Valkyria on the field, the opponent can't attack any other Spellcaster Monsters until she's destroyed! And with two of them on the field, that means that all of Yami and Bakura's Spellcasters are safe from attacks, which in essence means that they are safe as well!"

"That protection doesn't extend to The Duke of Demise, though," Kaiba pointed out. "But as it can't be destroyed in battle, that hardly matters."

The news brightened Ron up from his disgust. "Brilliant! If they can't be attacked, then it's become more likely that they'll win!"

"Assuming Raquel doesn't try any more direct damage tactics, that is," Malik added.

"Now then," Yami continued, "I believe that my first Valkyria has an attack to complete since neither of you two summoned any Monsters through my Trap Card's effect. I know it won't accomplish anything, but what's been started must be seen through to the end. Valkyria, attack!"

The first Magician's Valkyria tore her gaze away from her twin and released her built-up energy from her staff. The Spirit Reaper simply held up its scythe and deflected the blast away with it. Valkyria shrugged this off; it didn't really matter to her or the Pharaoh.

Raquel felt quite annoyed by the time Valkyria was finished with her attack. "You done wasting our time, Pharaoh?" she snarled. "If so, I'm going to take my turn!"

"In just a moment," said Yami. "I'm switching Bakura's Duke of Demise to Defence Mode just to keep our Life Points safe. _Then _I'm done with my turn."

The Duke of Demise sheathed its sword and swished its cloak over itself for cover. Raquel proceeded to draw her next card, and started shrieking with laughter when her eyes found the card's name.

"Nice try Pharaoh, but it looks like your troubles have yet to end!" she bragged, brandishing her card in the air like it was a banner. "I drew my own Monster Reborn! Guess who I'm bringing back with it!"

"Again?!" Bakura spluttered. "Oh, come _on!"_

But his protests fell on deaf ears. The ankh of revival flew up into plain view from behind Raquel and exploded into a combustion of light. The hulking Master of Oz stepped out from the light, with the Seal back on its forehead, and glared at the Pharaoh in hatred. (ATK: 4,200/ DEF: 3,700) - (ATK: 4,700/ DEF: 3,700)

"Ha ha ha!" Angus cracked up laughing. "Why thank you, Raquel! Now we have the upper hand once more!"

"No way!" Malik exploded with a mixture of horror and rage. "Already that thing's been brought back?! That's not fair!"

"How are they going to destroy it this time?!" yelled Ron.

"Oh, calm down, you dorks," Kaiba sighed as he rolled his eyes at his fellow captives. "Are you forgetting something already? The Master of Oz can't attack their Spellcasters, and The Duke of Demise is still impervious to battle. No matter how strong that thing is, it can't break through their defence. They're still safe."

"What Rich Boy says is true," Raquel sighed dejectedly. "So I have to end my turn."

Bakura drew quickly, his brain working feverishly to come up with a plan to defeat the Master of Oz a second time. He remembered that Mage Power was still equipped to the Sorceror of Dark Magic, which gave him an idea.

/_I think we can empower Yami's Sorceror of Dark Magic if we play some of our Spell or Trap Cards facedown_/Ryou mused.

//_Great idea, except for one problem..._//Bakura grumbled. //_I can't place any of these Spirit Message cards facedown, because they can only be put on the field by the effect of Destiny Board. And I still haven't drawn it yet! What's worse, I got Dark Sanctuary, but even though Dark Necrofear's in the Graveyard, I can't displace the Seal of Orichalcos with another Field Spell!_//

/_Which makes the three Spell Cards in our hand useless..._/Ryou gulped at their hand, which comprised of Spirit Message "A," Spirit Message "I," the Dark Sanctuary Bakura spoke of, and Dark Ruler Ha Des. /_There's nothing we can do..._/

//_Well don't worry_//Bakura assured him. //_Thanks to the Pharaoh's Valkyrias, we're safe from their attacks. With that being the case, it won't be necessary to keep The Duke of Demise on the field. Best let it go while we have the Life Points to spare_//

"I choose not to pay the cost for my Duke of Demise's preservation," he announced. "So it goes straight to the Graveyard."

The Duke of Demise let out a moan that had the skin on the Gryffindors' bodies crawling a little, and it dissolved into a bluish mist. Bakura slid his Fusion Monster's card into his Graveyard with a small shrug.

"And as I have nothing to do at all, I'm going to end my turn right there."

Angus's frustration (or at least the frustration of the darkness now controlling him) had peaked to a very high level now. He fought to contain his snarl of fury while dragging another card out of his deck and looking at it. He relaxed when he saw what it was, and started to grin some more.

"Not that grin again..." Malik groaned. "Don't tell me he's turning this around..."

Angus shoved one of his cards into his Graveyard and threw his drawn one into his Disk's wing. "I activate my Tribute to the Doomed! By sending one card in my hand to the Graveyard, like my Beast Soul Swap Trap Card, I can do away with one of those Valkyrias of yours, Pharaoh!"

A hand wrapped in linen bandages rose up around one of the terrified Valkyrias and grabbed her in its grip. The other Valkyria snarled and fought to get her sister free, but she failed, and was forced to watch in terror as the hand yanked the doomed Valkyria underground, leaving a mortified Pharaoh to stare in shock at the place where she once was.

"That in turn destroys your pathetic lockdown!" Angus gloated. "But I wouldn't worry for your Valkyrias, because neither one of them will be alone before long! I summon the last card in my hand - the Mad Dog of Darkness!"

The rabid-looking canine with drool dripping from its exposed fangs dashed out onto the Seal and barked loudly at the horrified Spellcasters. Then it became quiet as the Orichalcos took hold of its spirit and tainted it with evil, its symbol drawing itself onto the beast's forehead to signify its control. (ATK: 1,900/ DEF: 1,400) - (ATK: 2,400/ DEF: 1,400)

"Damn you!" Bakura spat at the Scotsman.

"Damn me?" Angus asked mockingly. "I think the both of you are the ones whose souls shall be damned to eternal darkness forever! Mad Dog of Darkness, devour the second Magician's Valkyria!"

Mad Dog of Darkness leapt forward and tore into Magician's Valkyria's neck with its fangs. The wounded brunette was too overcome by pain to do anything, so it was left to the mercy of the rabid canine. Within seconds she was devoured completely, and the dog scurried back to its master's field.

"Oh, and let's not forget!" Angus added hastily. "My Poison Fangs may not have worked for quite some time now, but since you've _finally _taken damage from a Beast Monster, its power activates! And lest we forget, since it's Effect Damage, the Dark Room of Nightmare strengthens it further by three-hundred points!"

An ominous red aura flared around his nearly-forgotten Poison Fangs card, and the Pharaoh almost fell over as a searing pain erupted in his chest. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to ignore the pain as best he could, until it subsided.

**(Yami and Bakura: 3,050 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 3,900 Life Points)**

/_No!_/Yugi gasped. /_Our sorceror's wide open to an attack now!_/

"With them gone, I can crush your pathetic sorcerer, Pharaoh!" Angus laughed. "Master of Oz, destroy the Sorceror of Dark Magic! Outback Fury!"

The Sorceror of Dark Magic looked defiantly at the Master of Oz's approaching fist and tried to conjure up a spell to counter the attack, but his time ran out as the fist slammed into his chin and crushed him against the Seal's invisible barrier like a pancake. He broke into pixelated shards like a piece of glass, and the force of his destruction almost knocked Yami and Bakura over.

"And I hope I don't need to remind you what my Poison Fangs, do I?" Angus asked with a mocking tone. "Say goodbye to even more of your Life Points!"

This time Yami screamed out loud as the effect of Poison Fangs activated again and rocked his body with even more agony, but again he managed to keep himself from falling to the floor. Even when the pain backed off again, sweat started pouring down the sides of his face.

**(Yami and Bakura: 1,250 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 3,900 Life Points)**

"Come on, Yugi..." Kaiba glared at the exhausted Pharaoh. "If you lose this duel, I am going to make you suffer after this is over..."

"They've lost their lockdown _and _one of their strongest Monsters!" Hermione wailed in despair. "I don't know if they can win now!"

"Calm down, Hermione, they still have a chance!" Malik urged her, but even he was beginning to doubt his own words. From the way the situation looked, it would have to take a miracle for the ancient spirits and their hikaris to save themselves.

"I'll end my turn for now," Angus declared. "But next turn, it's all over for you fools! Your souls shall soon become sacrifices to the Orichalcos!"

Yami's breathing began to come out in small rasps. The duel had gone on for a ridiculously long amount of time now, and it was taking a heavy toll on his body. And from the looks of his partner when he examined the thief, so did Bakura. He had to end it _now, _otherwise he would probably pass out.

//_This next card I draw had better be what I need_//he prayed. //_Or so many souls could suffer...I can't allow it..._//

/We _won't allow it, Pharaoh_/Yugi corrected him. His face still shone with determination despite the grim odds. /_We can still win this!/_

The sight of his hikari's confidence was enough to raise the Pharaoh's morale back up. //_Yes...we can. And we must_//He gripped his right hand into a fist. //_For Joey...for Shadi...for all the souls that have suffered at the hands of the Orichalcos...we _will _end it all right here! Voldemort won't get away with his misdeeds! Not as long as we can still duel!_//

Bakura glared at Yami from the sides of his eyes. //_He'd better turn things around now," _he growled. _"Because if not, I don't think we're going to last out the next round. If we take a direct attack from that Master of Oz, we're out of the game..._//

/_We've done all we could do, Bakura_/Ryou muttered. /_It's up to those two now..._/

Yami unclenched his fist and moved to draw from his deck. But as his fingers touched the top card, he swore he felt a jolt of energy shoot through his senses, and the sound of a dragon roaring echoing in his head...

Could it be?

Without hesitating any more, the Pharaoh pulled the card off his deck and checked it. The emerald dragon on the picture was all the evidence he needed to identify what he had drawn.

//_The Eye of Timaeus!_//he gasped. //_He came just in time!_//

/_Yes!_/Yugi whooped. /_Now hurry and use him so we can win the duel!_/

Yami smiled as he added the special card to his hand and chose another one to use. He slotted it into his Duel-Disk, causing his Life Point counter to trickle downwards a little.

"First, I'll activate Premature Burial!" he declared. "By paying eight-hundred Life Points, I can bring my Dark Magician back from the Graveyard!"

His discard slot spewed forth a steam of crackling smoke, and the Dark Magician flew out of it and took to the field with a huge smirk on his gentle face. He aimed his staff up at the Master of Oz without showing any fear. (ATK: 2,500/ DEF: 2,100)

**(Yami and Bakura: 450 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 3,900 Life Points)**

"Pharaoh, be careful, you idiot!" Bakura yelled at his partner in frustration. "You've left us with almost no Life Points at all!"

_"Wait, Bakura!" _Ryou interjected. _"I think Yami may have a plan! He wouldn't take such a risk unless he was absolutely sure that whatever he's planning with his revived Monster would work!"_

"The Dark Magician, eh?" Angus smirked. "It will be very memorable for when I demolish him right before your very eyes in order to cause your defeat!"

"I'm afraid you're not going to get that chance, Angus!" Yami rebutted. He held out his Legendary Dragon card, with its back still turned towards his opponents. "I'm going to end it all on this turn, thanks to what I just drew! I play the Eye of Timaeus!"

The name shook up the Death Eaters dramatically. "No!" they both screamed. "Not that!"

"Oh yes, that!" Yami flung the card into his Disk with a dramatic swing of his arm. "And with the arrival of Timaeus comes your judgment!"

A burst of emerald-covered light erupted behind the Pharaoh and Bakura like a volcano, and Timaeus, in his dragon form, flew out of it and entered the Seal without any hindrance from the barrier. It sent a challenging roar towards the Master of Oz, who returned it with a mere scowl.

//_About time Timaeus showed up!_//Bakura grinned.

"Yes!" Malik gushed with excitement. "Now that Timaeus has showed up, the Pharaoh's got this in the bag!"

"Timaeus!" Yami called out to his Legendary Dragon. "I shall fuse you with my Dark Magician like I did once before in the past, in order to form the Amulet Dragon!"

Dark Magician leapt into the air, performing another acrobatic flip as he went until he landed right on top of Timaeus's back. As if in response to this, golden eldritch lines started to draw themselves all over Timaeus's face and chest. The dragon seemed to take well to this. (ATK: 2,900/ DEF: 2,500)

Raquel attempted to make some sort of snappy comment about this, but the fear in her voice betrayed how she was really feeling. "Th-th-that doesn't m-make a difference, Pharaoh! The M-Master of Oz is st-still too strong f-f-for him!"

_If you only knew, Raquel... _Kaiba chuckled to himself. _I've seen Yugi do this before, and it's a very destructive move to make. You won't last after this._

"For now, yes, but that will change very soon!" Yami shouted. Everyone could heard the utmost certainty in his words. "For when Amulet Dragon is summoned, I must remove every Spell Card in my Graveyard from play! But since this is an Asian tag-team duel we're playing, Bakura and I are sharing a Graveyard, which means that both his Spell Cards and mine are going to be removed for this effect!"

Bakura's Duel-Disk started to shake, as did Yami's. Then the discard slots began churning out their Spell Cards like dispenser machines. Bakura was surprised to see this, even as he collected all his Spell Cards and slipped them into his trenchcoat.

"Is there a point to doing this, Pharaoh?" he asked.

Yami didn't answer the question immediately; he was busy gathering his own Spell Cards. Once all of them were finally in his pocket, he turned back to look at Angus and Raquel with a smirk of victory.

"There's a very good point to this move," he continued. "For each Spell Card removed by this effect, the Amulet Dragon gains three-hundred Attack Points! Bakura, how many have you removed from play?"

"Eight," Bakura reported. "What about you?"

Yami's grin got even bigger. "Thirteen. That equals a total of twenty one, and twenty one multiplied by three-hundred equals sixty three hundred! That amount is added to Amulet Dragon's starting score, for a grand total of...well, why don't I let you see for yourself?"

The lines on Timaeus's body flared with sun-like light, as did the Dark Magician's sceptre. The dragon let out a roar of triumph, basking in its dramatic increase of attack power. (ATK: 2,900/ DEF: 2,500) - (ATK: 9,200/ DEF: 2,500)

Angus and Raquel stared up at the Amulet Dragon with expressions that could only be described as sheer terror. They both fell to their knees, the cards in their hands forgotten now. Their grips slackened enough to let the cards scatter around them.

"Hahaha!" Malik laughed at their expense. "Losers!"

"But wait..." Something clicked in Hermione's memory as she gazed at the Seal of Orichalcos, and then at the Death Eaters. "If they do lose this duel, what will happen? They have no souls to forfeit!"

Malik broke off in his laughing. That was a very good question Hermione had brought up.

"Forget about that for now!" Ron said excitedly. "The Pharaoh and the thief are about to win this!"

/_They did it!_/Ryou shouted happily. /_They've secured us the duel!_/

//_Yeah, well it's not like the Pharaoh would have done this without our help, you know_//Bakura retorted stubbornly. His hikari just sighed and shook his head.

/_This is it!/_ Yugi said excitedly. Yami too, was smiling.

//_We did it. We saved our friend's souls_//

"Now, Amulet Dragon…"

OOO

Voldemort was irritated. Not only were his duellists failing, but something or someone was interfering with his reception of the duel. The more he tried to widen the link into Potter's mind, the more difficult it became to shut this foreign invader out.

He could not put his finger on what this magic was. It felt like the inferior magic that the Item Bearers wielded, but it was as though it were a more passive force. There was another magic being helped along by the Shadows – a lighter magic that he had no trouble recognising as Wizard magic.

But who was it coming from? All the Item Bearers were otherwise occupied, so the Shadow magic couldn't be coming from any of them. And none of them had pure wizard magic anyway.

Fed up now, he concentrated hard on the link, and on the intruding magic. He could sense the shadows and immediately tried to dispel them. They remained there and to Voldemort's shock, a giggle arose in his mind.

"_Foolish mortal!" _the shadows hissed. "_Your magic pales in comparison to the vast powers of this realm!"_

"Which of the Bearers did this?!" the Dark Lord demanded, incensed that whoever was controlling the Shadow magic was laughing at him.

"_The Bearers?!" _the magic cackled again. "_Our masters did not do this! This punishment is from the Realm itself!"_

Voldemort was startled. The Shadow Realm was sentient?!

"_As is any magic!" _the Realm taunted, and Voldemort gave a start as he realised that his thoughts had been heard loud and clear. "_And we move to defend our Masters…by helping the one destined to defeat you!"_

And then pain that Voldemort had not even known possible coursed through him. It hurt worse than being ripped from his body…worse than possessing Potter's mind last June…this was a direct invasion, fuelled by other foreign magic's, battering his mental walls down and allowing his every though to filter to his greatest enemy…

OOO

Harry lurched against his bindings at the sudden onslaught of information coming from Voldemort. He heard Hermione yelp in surprise, and Ron shouting his name, but they sounded distant, everything drowned out by the thoughts, feelings and pain coming down the link between his mind and Voldemort.

He knew everything…

He knew Voldemort's plan.

He knew what he wanted the souls for.

It felt as though his mind were going to explode. His thoughts and Voldemort's thoughts were packed into his skull and he now understood what it felt like to have too much in your head. The magic built up like a balloon filled with too much air, and it was only a matter of time before it burst.

"The hell?" Bakura asked, his head swinging around to see what all the commotion was about.

"Something's very wrong with Harry!" Malik shouted, trying to crane his neck around as far as his bindings would allow him.

"We can see that!" Bakura snapped.

Yami's first instinct was to run and see what was happening outside the Seal, but Kaiba's voice quickly halted that urge in its tracks.

"What are you waiting for Yugi?! Finish the damn duel, you moron!"

The Pharaoh froze, before nodding and turning back to his monster.

"Attack the Master of Oz and end this duel! Ultima Magic Attack!"

Dark Magician called as much magical energy as he could muster to his staff while his dragonic mount gathered destructive energy inside its maw. The Master of Oz backed away from its opponent, and even the Spirit Reaper and Mad Dog of Darkness both started to look a little nervous...

Then the attacks broke free from the Amulet Dragon, and the chamber was soon lost to a mixture of blinding light and a tirade of screams that clearly belonged to the Death Eaters and some of the Duel Monsters. The captives shut their eyes as tightly as they could, but even their eyelids proved a poor defence against the light caused by the Amulet Dragon's final attack...

**(Yami and Bakura: 450 Life Points)----(Raquel and Angus: 0 Life Points)**

Yami and Bakura were out of the Seal as soon as it passed through them, and racing as fast as they could to the wall where their friends were pinned. But Harry's headache was beyond any of their help. It was forged purely of the connection he had with the Dark Lord, and even he did not understand what was going on in his own head right now. In the back of his aching mind, Harry felt a sense of fear – not his own – immediate panic, and the feeling of a door being opened.

In a rush of magic, all the power that had been exploring the link between him and Voldemort exploded into the chamber and Harry felt a single thought shoot through his head, freezing all his other thoughts in place.

Voldemort was coming…

OOO

* * *

**A/N: **Yeah, okay…another cliffie. What did you expect? We're finally moving into the big climactic finish.

I hope I didn't miss any spelling hiccups here. It doesn't help that my two betas are American and I'm British – my spellchecker implodes at words like defence and colour if they're changed to American English.

Again, I owe a massive thanks to my beta, Blake, for writing this whole damn thing. And chapter 28…actually if I bought a drink for every person who's helped me with this fic, I'd be even poorer than I am now (waves white flag saying "poor university student").

And before I forget, I have put up quite a few oneshots lately. There's more from the Anti-Cliche and Mary-Sue Elimination Society series (links on my page), and there's a small oneshot up that I thought fit about Chapter 13 of this fic. Read if you feel like it.

Anyway, that's that chapter. I won't put one up tomorrow. In fact if it wasn't Christmas tomorrow I would be hibernating (yes, that's how crap my day at work was today). But since it IS Christmas I have to spend it awake. But there will be an update on Boxing Day. And I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!...now I'm going to go crawl back into my box and sleep.


	31. Chapter 31: The Dominion of Souls

**Disclaimer: **(yawns) Don't own…really…I don't…(goes to sleep from boredom)

**A/N: **(waves) Hey everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas! I certainly did! One of the best presents was everyone who reviewed the last few chapters. So thank you very much!

And as promised, here is chapter 31! Shorter than the last one, but considering how quite I've updated, I hope no one minds. I also hope everyone enjoys it!

* * *

**Chapter 31: The Dominion of Souls**

Deep beneath the sea, under the ruins of a lost city, a great creature stirred. For the past year its powers had been regrowing, fed unknowingly by its pawn, the man who had found and been corrupted by the Orichalcos. Now other magics were at work, interfering with its rebirth. This, the Orichalcos could not allow.

There was one outlet left – the still active Seal in the chamber. A tendril of Atlantian magic was aimed and fired at it, sending more power of a different type into the already energy filled chamber.

"_Take their souls! Sweep the magic away and feed their energy to the Great Beast!"_

The rebirth was soon, and the beast would not be stopped now!

OOO

The magic swirled around the chamber, whipping everyone's hair as though they were stuck in a great storm. Yami and Bakura cringed from the onslaught, trying to see their friends as the magical bindings on the walls were dispelled and the prisoners fell free. The three different types of energy snapped and lashed at each other, furiously trying to beat the other, and send it back where it had come from.

The spirits of Kul Elna raced toward the chamber, trying to defend their descendant. Shadow magic looped around the Bearers, shielding them from harm. The Seal of Orichalcos attempted to draw out the souls of the two defeated duellists only to explode in an angry rage around the chamber when it discovered that they were soulless already. The wizard magic danced around the room, unsure of its place, tearing at anything that came too close to it.

Voldemort felt his power being sucked like a vacuum. He saw the chamber as if he were standing in it himself…magic running wild…the Bearers trying to make sense of it all…Potter and his friends trying to keep their feet…

And then he realised the horrible truth as Harry Potter raised his head and looked directly at him.

He _was_ there…the magic had drawn him to the chamber.

OOO

The Intensive Care Unit at Domino City Hospital was a busy place, but a quiet one at the same time. Voices were rarely raised above talking level for fear of disturbing the patients or the other visitors. The air of grief and sorrow that hung in the air also meant that anyone raising their voice was likely to be shot filthy looks. Though many of the patients did recover, ICU was the ward where people who were in critical conditions lay…some of them never recovering at all.

Tea Gardner stood by the door to ICU, nursing a cup of weak coffee in one of the cheap plastic cups provided by the vending machine. It had long since gone cold, but she needed something to do with her hands. She had been restless since they had arrived at the hospital a few hours ago.

Through the door she could see Mai and Serenity maintaining their vigil by Joey's bed. Tea swallowed the lump in her throat. She had seen Joey soulless before of course, the last time they had fought the Orichalcos, but it didn't make it any easier. She knew Mai was beside herself. The last time it had happened, Mai had been the one responsible. All this had brought back a load of bad memories for all of them.

She heard movement behind her and turned to see Tristan approaching. He looked as miserable as she felt. She sometimes forgot, in light of Yugi's presence, that Tristan had known Joey for much longer, and considered the blonde his best friend.

Tea looked sadly back at the bed. Joey didn't belong in a hospital bed. It didn't feel right to see him so quiet and still…so lifeless. She swallowed again. She would not go to pieces here.

"You okay Tea?" Tristan asked, fishing out the Yen for the vending machine. Tea shook her head.

"I don't think any of us are really," she said. Tristan straightened up and placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"They'll be fine," he said. "They'll beat this jerk and get Joey back. They always do."

Tea nodded, and moved away so that Tristan could get to the machine easier. She glanced through the door again, and saw Mai embracing Serenity by Joey's bedside. She remembered Battle City, when Serenity had sat beside Mai, watching her and offering what comfort she could. She remembered something Mai had told her the day before.

"_When I was…trapped in my Penalty Game…" _Mai had said, her eyes turning dark as she recalled the fear and pain at being trapped in the hourglass. "_Sometimes I swear I could hear Serenity's voice, or feel her touch. I didn't remember who she was, or understand a lot of what she said…the game was wiping my memories…but it was like she pulled me away from the darkness a little…"_

Now as Tea watched, both Serenity and Mai broke apart and took Joey's hand and gave it a squeeze. She wondered if Joey could feel that, wherever he was at the moment.

As she thought it, a jolt of pain ran through her heart, and she dropped her half empty cup in shock as the hurt clenched her chest like a steel hand.

"Tristan…" she gasped, noticing a spasm of pain on her friend's face mirror her own. "You felt it too."

"Yeah…" Tristan said, sounding a little breathless, but able to control himself better. "Yugi's in pain…"

Tears filled Tea's eyes and she choked back a sob of fear.

"Yugi…please be alright!"

OOO

The Orichalcso screamed.

The Shadows swarmed.

The wizard magic exploded like a supernova.

The chamber was flooded with more and more energy, battling, raging and fusing together.

It sent pain, sickness and a crushing feeling so powerful it felt almost like death's grip over the people in the room. All of them doubled over onto the ground, feeling their own magic caught in the struggle around them.

Yugi felt like his very soul was being ripped in two. From the anguished looks on Ryou and Malik's faces he knew they felt it too. On their other side, Harry, Ron and Hermione were feeling effects that were different but exactly the same. They were weak, drained of their power as it fought overhead.

To Yugi, it felt like every molecule in his body was being pulled in two directions. It was as if his own magic had become so closely bonded with his soul that having it pulled toward the raging battle above was pulling him along too…

"_Because its my magic," _Yugi thought vaguely through the pain. "_It's not the magic of the Puzzle, or the Other me. It's my power, and its fused so tightly with my soul that it hurts to be separated…"_

But it was more than his own magic being pulled away. It was ripping at the connection that he held closest to him, and indeed was bonded to him in very much the same way his magic did. And it was this bond that caused his soul to scream in pain, far more than the physical pain of having his magic pulled at did.

Losing his grip on reality, Yugi reached out once more for the person who meant the most to him, and who might be able to ground him now before they were both pulled apart for good…

/_OTHER ME!_/

It was the last thing Yami heard as the magic ripped through the chamber, before settling down abruptly like moving into the eye of a storm. Everyone present in the chamber collapsed unconscious on the hard stone floor.

OOO

When Bakura came too, there was a significant weight on his right arm. The light breathing and the mane of white hair identified it as Ryou. Bakura sat up, quickly observing their surroundings, before returning his attention to his hikari.

"Ryou," he shook his shoulder. "Hikari?"

There was a giggle from nearby and Bakura's head snapped round. Ryou gave a moan and stirred slowly.

"Mmm…Bakura? Where are we?"

The area they sat in was an endless white void, rather like the one they had been stuck in when they had witnessed flashbacks of their pasts. But there was something different about this place. There were spheres hovering off the ground, like giant transparent bubbles. And in each of these bubbles was a person.

Ryou felt a chill go down his spine.

"Where are we?" he asked again. "And where are the others?"

"We aren't alone here," Bakura replied grimly, getting to his feet. "I heard someone laugh earlier."

A pair of giggles echoed around the voice at his words. Both boys stood up immediately, looking around wildly for the source. A voice appeared from somewhere nearby.

"I told you they heard you. So much for surprising them!"

"You're right. I'm sorry."

Both yami and hikari's faces drained of colour as two forms emerged from between the bubbles around them. Both were female, but one was a teenager, while the other was still a child. The teenager had dark blue hair, which fell to her chin, and brown eyes, which were rounded into a kindly, yet slightly mischievous expression. She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, and walked with a calm unhurried pace. The child on the other hand, had black hair, which sat messily and untamed on her head. Her skin was tanned, and her blue eyes had a hint of purple in them and were glimmering with excitement. She wore a simple white dress and walked barefoot, a bounce in her step. The girls held each others hand and smiled fondly at the two flabbergasted boys.

"…Akila?" Bakura whispered.

"Amane?" Ryou's eyes filled with tears.

"Hey big brother," Akila waved.

"Welcome to the Dominion of Souls." Amane said.

OOO

Yugi was woken by a groan of pain, that he had no trouble recognising as Yami's. His eyes flicked open and he was met with white skies. With a feeling of trepidation growing rapidly in his stomach, he sat up slowly, feeling the blood rush back to his head. He gave a groan as the room span sickeningly.

"Are you okay Aibou?" Yami asked, sensing Yugi's movement beside him.

"Just a head rush…" Yugi said weakly. "What happened?"

"I think…" Yami said. "All that magic…reacted somehow in the chamber. It must have dragged us here."

"I saw Voldemort," Yugi remembered suddenly, alarm shooting through his body, and he got hurriedly to his feet.

"Yes, I sensed him being pulled into the chamber," Yami said, getting carefully up too. "There was some kind of power that dragged him in with us. It felt like wizard magic."

"But that doesn't make sense," Yugi said. "That's a sealed chamber. That's why the spirits of Kul Elna can't go far from it. The only way for a body to physically enter in is supposed to be by foot. The shadows don't allow people to enter by magic. They shouldn't have let us out into this realm either…"

"You know where we are?" Yami asked in surprise. Yugi nodded, looking around at the bubbles that floated around like giant cages. He looked skyward, and gulped as he caught sight of something hovering above them in amongst the endless white.

"I know exactly where we are," he said grimly. "I've been here before. My question is, how did we get here?"

OOO

Malik experimentally moved his hands and feet, and deducted that he had not broken anything from his fall into…wherever the hell he was. He opened his eyes and sat up slowly. A quick self-assessment indicated that the only thing he had done was banged his head, and probably dented his pride a little bit. He really hoped that his apparently graceless landing had not been observed by anyone. He looked around at the white void…and immediately yelped in surprise.

He had landed right next to one of the bubbles, from which an apparently sleeping face stared back at him inches from his own. Malik scrambled away, heart pounding somewhere around his throat, enough to recognise the face. It was Angus…only this time, Malik could tell that this was his soul, and not the shell Yami and Bakura had just beaten. His eyes wandered over the other bubbles surrounding him, and he felt a chill as he realised that all these bubbles were people who had been captured by the Orichalcos.

Swallowing thickly, he looked around for any sign of his friends. He could hardly see a thing through the bubbles, so he set off in one direction, hoping that the slight surge of magic he could feel in that direction would lead him to something good.

…A few bubbles away from where Malik had fallen, Voldemort stirred. Every part of him ached from his little impromptu trip to the chamber, and passing through three different magical energies before being shoved…wherever this place was. He could hear footsteps – one of the bearers probably. They would pay for this…they would all pay!

He hissed in further anger as he cast around and spotted Raquel hovering in one of the bubbles. Getting to his feet he tried to blast the bubble, only to have his spell ricochet off and almost hit him instead. Wherever this place was, he could do no harm to its apparent inhabitants, who were, he now realised, captured souls. He ceased his fury. Harming these souls would ruin his plans. He needed their energy for his ultimate goal…what he had been striving for his entire life.

He heard a squeak, not far from him, and he smirked as he saw the distorted shapes through the bubbles…Potter and his two friends were a little way away from him, and none of them had seen him…perfect!

Like a snake, Voldemort slid off between the bubbles, trying to find the best place to take aim. He would not miss this time!

OOO

"Did you miss me?" Akila asked, as Bakura broke out of his stupor, and both boys approached their siblings.

"Every second I spent trapped in the Ring," Bakura said without hesitation. Akila giggled and Bakura felt his heart twist painfully in his chest. He had missed that sound so much.

"You lie," Akila said teasingly. "You forgot us all when you were trapped…its okay," she assured as Bakura opened his mouth to defend himself. "I understand. You remember now. That's what's important."

Amane smiled at the two before turning back to Ryou, who reached out and tried to place a hand on her shoulder. It sank right through her, and his heart sank along with it.

"Can't I…?"

"Sorry big brother," and Amane did sound very sorry that they could not touch each other. "It's a rule of the realm. Besides, we're dead. You two aren't."

"What is this realm?" Bakura asked.

"This is the Dominion of Lost Souls," Akila explained, before scrunching her face up into a frown. "Though it's a very silly name. We're not lost. Just waiting."

"For what?" Ryou asked.

"For you," Amane continued the explanation. "You know there are other worlds attached to yours? There's two mortal worlds – the human realm and the Dominion of the Beasts, where the duel monsters live."

"Then there are the dead worlds," Akila took over. "There's Aaru…"

"Excuse me?" Ryou interrupted, the Egyptian term lost on him. Bakura quickly explained.

"The Egyptian equivalent to heaven hikari."

"Yes, heaven, paradise, the next life – basically, where you go if you pass judgement," Amane elaborated for her twin's sake.

"And then there's Duat," Akila went on. "A place of eternal suffering and never ending darkness."

"The Shadow Realm," Bakura summarised.

"Then the Shadow Realm…is the Egyptian equivalent to hell?" Ryou asked in horror.

"Where the souls wander after their hearts are devoured by Ammit," Akila said. "Destined never to enter Aaru…"

She broke off shivering in fear.

"And then there's this place," Amane picked up. "It's not really a realm. It's more of an in-between space, between the mortal realms and the dead ones. This is where souls that are awaiting judgement hang around until its time."

"Why would you wait?" Bakura asked, horrified that his sister had been waiting here for five thousand years.

"Amane just said," Akila said, taking the older girl's hand again. "We're waiting for you."

She pointed through the bubbles in the direction they had come from.

"The Hall of Judgement is off in that way," the little girl said. "There are lots of us however that chose to wait for people we love before entering."

She looked up at Amane smiling, before turning back to the two boys. "Amane and are waiting for our big brothers, so that when the time comes, we can go through the hall together. We were taken before our times, so now we wait for you."

Ryou fell to his knees, the weight of the words crashing down over him. Bakura placed a hand on his hikari's shoulder, but he was just as overwhelmed and awed by the depth of love and devotion that his sister showed for him, and Amane for Ryou.

"You've waited here for five thousand years…"

Akila's normally sweet face became hard with determination.

"I'd wait a million years for you big brother."

Next to her, Amane nodded in agreement, and Bakura remembered something suddenly, and cursed himself for not asking sooner.

"Mother, Femi and Suma…?"

Akila pointed again toward the Hall of Judgement. "They went through. They asked me to come too, but I wanted to wait…I don't know if they passed or not though…"

She looked worried, and Bakura could tell that this was one of her biggest fears that had haunted her for all the years she had sat waiting here. He wished he could hug her.

"They'll have made it," he said, trying to sound firm, despite how shaken this encounter was making him. "And we'll see them again…"

He trailed off, knowing that while Akila was almost guaranteed a place in the next life, his heart was heavy with sins, and was very unlikely to be lighter than the feather of Ma'at. He was quickly distracted, as Ryou finally spoke up.

"What about the souls in the bubbles?"

"They're not dead," Amane said nodding at them. "They're just in storage…we don't know exactly what puts them there, but it's happened before. They just sit there doing nothing…"

"Until the giant creepy eye comes and takes them," Akila said with a shudder.

"What giant creepy eye?" Ryou asked.

For an answer, Amane pointed skyward. Above their heads was indeed, a giant yellow eye with a slit black pupil. It seemed to radiate pain and suffering, and indeed, a mixture of colours, which swirled and clashed in a chaotic manner, as the magic infected the realm, had tainted the white void around it. It sent chills down the spines of all who stared at it. Now they were watching, Ryou and Bakura could see the bubbles closest to it were being pulled closer and absorbed.

"That feels horrible," Ryou said. "Like Orichalcos magic."

"It's absorbing the souls," Bakura realised. "Which must mean…that eye must be the Leviathan."

"Then…these bubbles are the souls that were Sealed…" Ryou swallowed before turning to face Amane again. "Is Father in one of these?"

Amane nodded. "I've seen him myself. He's here somewhere."

Ryou looked shameful. "I broke my promise…I said I'd look after him."

"Don't worry Ryou," Amane said, shaking her head. "You were in Japan. He was in Egypt. There was nothing you could have done. If he had come home like he had promised…"

She trailed off scowling, and Bakura immediately decided he liked Amane. Clearly he was not the only one who hated Ryou's absent father for abandoning his only child to fly off half way around the world. Ryou however, caught the tone and frowned at his sister.

"He couldn't help it Amane," he said. "His work demands it."

"At the cost of his only remaining kid," Amane scoffed. "_Sure_ he can't help it…"

"We need to find the others," Bakura interjected. Not that he disagreed with Amane, but he didn't feel that they should waste what time they had here arguing. Besides, Ryou would not want to part with his sister on bad terms.

"Can you locate them with the Ring?" Ryou asked, his attention now diverted to the idea of finding the rest of the gang. Bakura busied himself shaking the Item, which jingled and pointed off in one direction.

"Nearest magical signatures are that way," he said.

"Then its time we took our leave," Amane said. Ryou looked crushed.

"You can't come with us?" he asked. The girls shook their heads.

"Our place is here," Akila said. "We're waiting for you. We were lucky we got to see you so soon, but for now, we have to wait until its time for you to come here for judgement."

It was clear that Ryou was struggling not to cry, and Bakura too felt tears prickle at the corners of his own eyes. After being reunited with his sister, one of the few people in his life he had loved with all his heart, they had to be separated again so soon?

"Don't worry about us," Amane said. "We'll be fine watching over you…and we _will_ be watching," she added with a sneaky smile.

"But…" Ryou could not think of any sensible argument. Deep down he knew that there was no logical way the girls would be able to go with them. They were souls here. Neither of them had physical bodies remaining, and there was no way to take them back with them. They were stuck there, while Ryou and Bakura would have to go on…

"Wish we could hug you," Akila said, reaching up to her big brother. Bakura knelt down and tried to place a hand on her shoulder, only for it to sink right through again. Disappointment crashed down on him again.

"Look after yourself," Amane said to Ryou. "And don't cry, silly!" she said shaking her head. Ryou managed to crack a small smile at her order, and pulled a determined face on. Akila approached him quickly as Amane turned to Bakura. The little girl beckoned him down to her level, and as he crouched, she whispered to him.

"Thank you Ryou."

The hikari was confused.

"For what?"

"For bringing my big brother back," she said. "He…he was very sad…while he was in the Ring. But he's happy and back to normal now because of you."

Ryou wondered what part of being a disembodied spirit trapped in a piece of jewellery classified as normal, but knew that was not what Akila was referring to. She was talking about her brother's attitude.

It was apparently on Amane's mind as well. As this exchange took place, she gave Bakura a stern look.

"You look after him, you hear?" she said in the tone of a mother about to lay down the law. "Or, dead or not, I _will _hunt you down."

"Dead or not," Bakura said, his respect for the girl rising. "I have no doubts that you could."

Satisfied, Amane took Akila's hand again.

"Time we went," she said. The smaller nodded, and waved as they turned and vanished into the white void around them.

OOO

Ron woke slowly feeling as though someone had taken a bludger to his head…and he _knew_ how that felt. He opened his eyes, wincing at the blinding light that the world around him seemed to project. He slowly blinked to clear his vision…and immediately wished he'd kept his eyes shut.

Above him hung a monstrous sight…

The sky, and indeed the area around him was filled with bubbles with captured people sleeping inside. Yet high in the sky, there was a point where the blinding white light faded away and was replaced by a sickly combination of orange and purple. As Ron watched, the bubbles were being dragged slowly upwards toward a sickly looking yellow eye, which hung in the sky like a giant orb. Faint screams could be heard as the bubbles were pulled and absorbed by the black slit-like pupil. Ron felt like he should scream too, but his voice appeared to have died.

"Ron…?" there was a frightened whisper from behind him, and Ron felt a hand grab his elbow in fear.

"I know Hermione," he said, taking her hand and squeezing it back. "I know…"

And as they sat there beneath the eye of the most powerful dark magical creature absorbing all the souls it could get, Ron felt like he really did know just how she felt.

OOO

"Pharaoh!"

"Yugi!"

The aforementioned people looked up and both sighed in relief as Ryou and Bakura hurried into view. Both of them looked shaken, but there was a certain air of happiness around them. Yami wondered what could have happened to them, and then decided that he would ask later.

"You guys okay?" Yugi asked.

"Fine," Ryou said, before turning and looking skyward at the eye of the Leviathan. "But we have a big problem on our hands."

"We saw," Yugi said. "The Leviathan has started absorbing souls. We need to find the others and stop it."

"We have no idea where it will strike," Bakura pointed out, not wanting to be the pessimistic one, but knowing that it was true.

"You think we don't know that?" Yami asked irritably, pacing as he thought hard. "The Leviathan will need a trigger, something to fully awaken it."

"What did it use last time?" Bakura asked, shaking the Ring as it locked onto Malik's magical aura. "Tomb Keeper at eleven o clock!"

"Dartz used a powerful soul to be the trigger," Yami said, as they hurried along. "He was intending to use my soul, but after he lost our duel he used his soul instead."

"So it needs a powerful soul?" Bakura summarised.

"Wait…" Ryou said, stopping suddenly, his eyes widening in fear. "What if it absorbed loads of souls at the exact same time? Would that be enough to awaken it?"

Yami thought hard. "Not individually…as a whole force, for example if he sealed a hundred at once, the combined strength…yes I think it could be enough energy to act as an effective trigger."

"Oh my…" Ryou trailed off, paling to the shade of his hair. "The stones…the final judgement…"

"Ryou, what's wrong?" Yugi asked.

"The school," Bakura gasped, picking up his hikari's train of thought. "The stones in Hogwarts, and the whole castle is fighting the Orichalcos Gigas…All those souls…"

It was at this moment that Yugi and Yami understood, and horror flooded through them. The students of Hogwarts – those young, healthy souls, all fighting for their school – they would be the perfect trigger for the Leviathan to awaken. And with the Orichalcos stones in the building, the souls could be fed instantly to the Leviathan's life force.

"But…" Yugi was struggling to accept anything beyond horror at the castle's plight, but a flaw kept cropping up. "Dark Magician Girl said that Voldemort didn't know about the Leviathan's return. Did he find out?"

"I don't think so," Yami shook his head. "A giant sea serpent doesn't seem like his style."

"I don't know," Bakura mused. "I remember Harry saying once that he has a pet snake. Maybe he has a fetish."

"No, no, no!" Ryou was shaking his head wildly. "Not Voldemort. The Orichalcos. The Orichalcos has been controlling Voldemort, manipulating his plans to suit its own needs, just like my readings said. Voldemort doesn't know about the Leviathan, but the Orichalcos has been telling him what to do!"

In his panic he was babbling, but it got the message across. Yugi looked horrified and was covering his mouth with his hands.

/_The school…oh Gods, what have we done?_/

//_We've left the students at the mercy of the Orichalcos_// Yami summarised. He too was putting the pieces together, his own words to Dumbledore echoing in his mind.

"_We shall protect them…with our souls if needs be."_

"Voldemort wanted the souls of the people at Hogwarts because he felt it would further his own plans –" Ryou was continuing to speak.

"Whatever those are…" Bakura muttered.

"But the Orichalcos needed the souls of the people in the school to act as an effective trigger to awaken the Leviathan!" Yugi said. "So it influenced Voldemort into believing that what had to be done was to Seal the whole school."

"We need to get out of here and get to Hogwarts," Yami said firmly. "We cannot abandon them to that fate."

"You have any ideas on how to get out?" Bakura asked. "Because I'm drawing a blank here."

"We need to regroup first," Yugi said. "We can't leave this realm without Harry, Ron, Hermione, Malik or Kaiba. We have to find them and then we can work out what to do."

OOO

Malik was sure he had already passed this bubble…only because he remembered thinking how ugly the person inside the bubble was. Groaning, as he realised he was going around in circles, he plopped to the ground, rubbing his head and messing up his hair further.

"If I see one more, ugly guy in a goldfish bowl I'm going to maim someone…preferably someone pale and psychopathic…who's not Bakura."

Realising that talking to himself was not going to get him anywhere; he got up and craned his head, wishing he had the Millennium Ring, and praying that Bakura was using it to find him.

He was so intent on thinking up various methods of torture for Voldemort that he didn't see the stirring body on the ground until he had tripped over it and slammed back into the floor.

"Holy mother of…" he didn't quite manage to get the profanity out as he looked up and came face to face with Ron and Hermione, the latter clinging in a terrified fashion to the former.

"Hi Malik," Ron said, waving weakly. Malik shook his head.

"Oh hi Ron. Glad you're okay," he said, sitting up straight, rubbing his forehead where it had collided with the floor, and turning around to see who he had tripped over.

"You alright Harry?"

"I was until you tripped over me," Harry muttered, pushing his glasses back on straight. "Where are we?"

"Another dimension," Malik said. "At a guess."

"At a guess?" Ron asked. "You mean you don't know?"

"I'm pretty sure…" Malik amended. "It feels like another dimension…it's the same kind of feeling you get in the Shadow Realm."

"What happened to Voldemort?" Harry asked. "I remember seeing him in the chamber…"

"I saw him too," Hermione squeaked, finding her voice. "I have no idea how he got there. He must have apperated."

"With all that magic running riot?" Malik snorted. "Not likely. I don't think you can apperate into that chamber. I'm guessing he used the Orichalcos somehow."

"It was me," Harry said quietly, causing the other three to stare at him. "I don't know how but the…connection between our minds was open – that's how he was viewing the duel – and it somehow pulled him in the chamber."

Malik frowned remembering the surge of Shadow magic in the chamber…not all of that could have come from the village spirits, and Wizard magic certainly wasn't strong enough to drag a living body through a mental connection on its own…Could the Shadows have played a part in bringing Voldemort to them?

Ron was silent, most of this going beyond him, and was instead observing their surroundings cautiously…and so consequently, he was the first to spot the danger. With a loud yell of "DUCK!" he pulled Hermione over and watched as a jet of green light sailed over Malik and Harry's heads, exploding harmlessly on one of the bubbles. At the same time, Harry felt his scar explode in pain, and he knew Voldemort was attacking.

From nowhere, something small was thrown with the speed of a bullet, there was a howl of pain as the card struck Voldemort's wrist and another spell was misaimed and flew skyward, fizzling out with nothing to connect with. The missile fluttered to the ground and Malik recognised the holofoil at once…it was a Blue-Eyes White Dragon card.

"Kaiba!"

He turned to see the CEO standing behind one of the bubbles nearby; his duel disk ready and another card to hand.

"What are you idiots waiting for?" he demanded. "Run!"

They didn't need telling twice. Malik hauled Harry to his feet, while Hermione and Ron raced off through the bubbles. Kaiba was right behind them, and not wanting the CEO to be in a foul mood for losing one of his cards later, Malik quickly summoned the Blue Eyes from the floor. Another jet of green light narrowly missed putting an end to his life as he ran, and Voldemort emerged from behind one of the bubbles. Two more killing curses were thrown, but the four teens were already out of sight.

OOO

"Oi Malik!" Bakura barked, as the group went speeding past them. Yugi and Ryou were alarmed at how fast they were running, and Yami too, raised an eyebrow.

"Where's the fire?" he asked in a dry voice.

"The Pharaoh made a joke!" Bakura said, with equal dryness in his voice. "Now I've seen everything!"

"Voldemort," Harry gasped, doubling over with the effort of catching his breath. "Back there…Kaiba saved us…only just got away."

Kaiba was not hunched over with breathlessness, but he was inhaling a bit deeper than normal. Other than that, he gave no indication he had been running, except to add Blue Eyes back to his deck and reshuffle.

"Are you all okay?" Yugi asked, his eyes wide with worry.

"Fine," Malik panted. "Glad we found you though…where the hell are we?"

"The Dominion of Souls," Bakura said immediately. "It's like a transit zone between the mortal world and the afterlife, from what we've gathered. These souls here" – he pointed at one of the bubbles – "are ones that the Orichalcos has captured. And right now" – now he pointed at the Eye above their heads. – "the Leviathan has started to absorb them all. We don't have long left."

"We think we've worked it out," Ryou continued, the words rushing out of him. "The Orichalcos has been controlling Voldemort, actually using him to fulfil its own needs."

"The magic itself?" Hermione asked, looking horrified. "It's _sentient_?!"

"All magic is," Ryou said in an obvious voice, rather shocked that they did not know this.

"Gods you wizards are dense," Bakura scoffed.

"So what does the Orichalcos want?" Malik asked.

"The souls of the people at Hogwarts," Yami said. "To act as a trigger to release the Great Leviathan."

"And it's been using Voldemort to do all this?" Hermione asked. "And he hasn't suspected a thing?"

"No he hasn't," Harry shook his head suddenly. "When he appeared in the chamber, I saw his thoughts…I don't know how. It must be the link between us. But I saw what Voldemort wanted the souls for."

"What?" Yugi asked.

"He doesn't know about the Leviathan," Harry said. "He wants the Orichalcos for immortality. By collecting these souls, he can use their power to increase his own life."

"Of course!" Yami breathed. "Dartz did the same thing! He lived for over ten thousand years because he had the Orichalcos feeding him souls to keep him alive!"

"Wait…he canuse it to increase his life?!" Ron asked in horror. "I thought all that the Orichalcos did was take people's souls!"

"The Orichalcos has multiple purposes," Yami said. "As does your own magic." He gestured to Harry, Ron and Hermione. "It can be used to capture souls, to draw out the emotions of those around it, it can be used to awaken the Leviathan, and it can extend life…and those are just its main powers."

"So Voldemort was being influenced all through last year?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not surprised," Malik said. "If you needed more proof, didn't you see him just now? One of his eyes was green."

"Green?" Harry frowned. "Voldemort's eyes are red."

"Not his left one anymore," Malik shook his head. "He's being controlled by the Orichalcos. It's using him as a conduit for its power by telling him what to do, and making him believe that it's for his own good…trust me, I know a lot about controlling people."

Harry wanted to ask what he meant by that, but decided it could wait.

"Well this is all very interesting," came Kaiba's dry voice. "But I'd like to get out of this place sometime soon."

"Way ahead of you Kaiba," Malik said. "This might be a transit realm, but at the end of the day, it is just a realm. Only our spirits are here…that much is obvious" – he pointed at the separated Yugi and Yami to indicate – "Our bodies are still in that chamber. We can use our Shadow magic to connect back to them and go back to our realm."

"Will that work?" Harry asked. "Because there was more than one type of magic in that chamber, and I'm sure it took more than just your magic to get us here. How do we know it won't take more now?"

"The mix of magic in that chamber might have brought us here," Yami said. "But the Millennium Items were created to separate the souls from the body, and to take them where flesh cannot go, like the Shadow Realm. It should be simple to reconnect to our bodies, because that's what the Items are designed to do."

"And those of us that don't have Shadow magic?" Ron asked in an obvious tone.

"Oh for…" Bakura growled, before grabbing Ron and tugging him next to him. "Get in a circle for the love of the Gods!"

Not wanting to argue with an irritable thief who was now muttering about stupid mortals in Egyptian, Harry and Hermione stood next to Ron, while Yugi and Yami stood beside them. Ryou stood on Bakura's other side, with Malik next to him. Kaiba looked annoyed, but Malik and Yami grabbed his arms and held on, despite the CEO's protests.

"Ready?" Yami asked.

"For what?" Ron asked, but the question hadn't been directed at him. Yugi, Ryou, Malik and Bakura nodded and instantly their three items began to glow. The magic built in intensity, forming a golden circle around them, until in a flash they were gone from the realm.

OOO

Voldemort wandered between the bubbles, furious with himself for losing a perfect opportunity – _yet_ _another_ perfectly wasted opportunity – to destroy Harry Potter and those accursed bearers.

He had tried apperating out of this place, but it was futile. He knew it was another realm, and not the mortal one, and his own wizard magic lacked the means to escape. He had only one more option – to use the magic of the Orichalcos – but to his anger, it was proving difficult to control, and using it to transport himself out of there was proving impossible too. He, the master of the most powerful magic in the world, was being stopped from escaping. It angered him, causing his power to grow stronger. It was like a mantra in his head…a constant chant being whispered in his ear that he had heard ever since he had acquired the magic.

"_Anger…hatred…feed the darkness…then drown the world in it…"_

He snarled. He could not drown the world in darkness if he was stuck in this other realm…

"_Your anger gives you power…go capture them…capture them and feed the Orichalcos…"_

The power collected around him and he felt a surge of magic transporting him away from that realm…and the wandering thoughts in his head that didn't seem to come from him.

"_Capture them and feed my power little pawn…"_

OOO

Neville Longbottom stood at the window of the Gryffindor tower, gazing out at the army of Orichalcos Gigas, which continued to assault the castle.

It had been ages since the attack had begun and hours since Harry, Ron and Hermione had left. Neville couldn't help but check the fireplace every five minutes in the hope that they would come back with the Japanese students in tow. He hadn't known what to think when Harry had said that they knew something to help defend the castle, but Neville didn't doubt it. Harry was normally right about these things, and besides, he knew too that there was something about the transfer students that was different. They weren't like other wizards their age. They all had the same look about them, like they had faced darkness and it had marked them terribly.

Maybe Neville had recognised it because he had suffered the same sort of darkness himself. The darkness which came back to haunt him whenever he went to visit his parents in St Mungos. It was the kind that damaged people's lives. Yugi, Ryou and Malik had it, Harry had it, and Neville had it. They had all lost something to the world at some point in their lives.

Thinking about his parents only made him more determined, and Neville switched windows again, seeing another Orichalcos Gigas return. He focused on the strongest stunning spell he knew, and cast it. The monster fell with a satisfying crash and Neville felt himself grin.

He would fight for this school while there was breath and will left in him. And he would not let anyone down!

"Neville!"

Neville turned to see Seamus approaching him. With Harry, Ron and Hermione's departure, it was just him, Seamus and Lavender manning this tower, and he wondered what could have distracted his roommate like this.

"What's up?" Neville asked.

"You are not going to believe who is outside the door wanting to speak to you," Seamus said, his own face a picture of disbelief. His curiosity aroused, Neville hurried to the portrait door, leaving Seamus to take over his position.

Neville had passed the point of his life where he tripped over the portrait door, but when he saw who was waiting for him, he had to catch the doorframe to stop himself from stumbling. For standing in the corridor, looking incredibly anxious and sheepish, was Draco Malfoy.

"What do you want?" Neville asked, before he could stop himself. He was more than unnerved, if only because he had never seen Malfoy look so scared.

"I need to talk to you," Malfoy said urgently.

"Well make it quick please," Neville said, wanting more than ever to get back in the tower and fight.

"Longbottom, we don't have long left," the Slytherin explained. "I came looking for Potter, but Finnigan said you're the leader of the DA while they're gone."

"That's true," Neville nodded, wondering where Malfoy was going with this.

"Did Potter, or any of the transfers tell you about the Orichalcos stones before they left?" Malfoy asked.

"What Orichalcos stones?" Neville asked, his alarm rising. He knew what the Orichalcos was of course – everyone who read the Daily Prophet knew that it was Voldemort's new weapon, and it was capable of sealing souls away. Malfoy's face fell.

"Fine, this will take a while to explain then…"

OOO

The Shadows breathed a sigh of relief. Their masters were returning to the realm they belonged to. All was good…

Now they had prizes to deliver…it had been a Shadow Game too after all…

OOO

In the ICU ward in Domino City Hospital, Mai Valentine was praying.

She had never been religious, but sitting by Joey's bedside, feeling her heart twist as she squeezed his hand, she knew she needed to believe in him. She couldn't fool herself. She knew how strong her feelings for Joey were, and she knew they stretched far beyond just friendship. She'd never had the guts to give a name to them before…and she still didn't have it now. Just thinking about how much she cared for the young man lying before her caused her throat to close and tears to rise in her eyes. She blinked them away.

On the other side of the bed, Serenity was sitting upright, her brother's hand clasped between the two of hers, rather like Mai was holding Joey's other hand now. Her back was straight, her eyes were closed and her breathing was even. She looked almost peaceful in that meditative state, except for the slight line of worry that was etched into her forehead, the only indication that she was stressed. Mai wondered if she had sat like this at her bedside while she had been unconscious in Battle City.

The thoughts of that tournament opened up new worries and anxieties in Mai's mind. She prayed harder.

"…you know I'm gonna need my hands back."

The voice was quiet and slightly croaky from lack of use, but it made Serenity and Mai's heads snap up in unison, disbelief and joy etched onto their faces.

"Joey!"

"Big brother!"

Tristan and Tea, who had been standing just outside the door, came running at the noise, along with two nurses and the doctor who was on duty that morning, but all they could see, as the two young women hugged the patient, was Joey's face over both their shoulders, grinning like a fool.

OOO

Everyone came to at the same moment. Yugi shook his head to clear his vision, surprised to find himself on the cold stone floor of the chamber, when a second ago he had been standing upright in the Dominion of Souls. Looking around, he saw the others struggling to rise. Ryou was wiping emotional tears from his eyes, hoping that no one would notice them. Malik was raking his hair out of his face, Harry was rubbing his temples as he sat up, and Kaiba just had his usual mask on his face, as if nothing strange had just happened. All of them looked a little worse for the wear. Yugi had to repress a smile as he saw that Hermione had collapsed right on top of Ron, and the two were now separating with red faces. He sent a quick mental question out, and he was relieved when Yami responded, assuring Yugi that he was fine and safe in his soul room.

"Guess we're back then," Ron remarked, once the pink in his cheeks had did down, though it had not quite faded from his ears.

"Looks like it," Ryou said, casting a look around the chamber. The back of his neck prickled uncomfortably and he looked over his shoulder. He was sure he felt something…

"We should head back to Hogwarts," Harry said firmly. "Before all those souls can be taken."

//_And used to wake the Leviathan_// Yami added mentally. Yugi nodded in agreement. He was about to open his mouth and make the suggestion that they leave, when Ryou's terrified scream interrupted him.

Ryou had been focusing hard behind him. He was sure there was someone there. As he watched, the darkness seemed to shift, until he realised he was not looking at a harmless shadow…but a form hidden in the darkness, one red eye and one green eye seeking them out. He screamed.

"Look out!"

Everyone's heads whipped around as the Dark Lord stood to his full height, wand raised. Green light exploded around the chamber along with the fatal words…

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

There was a scream, a rush of a falling body, a second's silence…and then a cry.

"No!"

OOO

The Shadows, hyped at their recent activities, confused from the different magic's, and anxious for the bearers' safety, felt the arm of death reach toward the ones who wielded their magic.

One of their masters was about to die…

OOO

* * *

**A/N: **Oooh dear…who have I killed I wonder? (hides in her box) Don't hurt me! Or you'll never find out what happens!

Joey's back! Woot! And Voldie's hearing voices! Not a good sign!

I might have confused a few people with all my reference to the Egyptian afterlife, so I'll give you a quick rundown of the beliefs.

The Egyptian's believed that the heart, not the brain was the centre for all thought and emotion. When a person died they were taken by Anubis to be judged by the Gods. They would have their heart weight on scales against the feather of Ma'at (Ma'at was the concept of truth and justice, occasionally represented as a Goddess). If the heart was lighter than the feather, it proved that the person was free of sin, and they could pass to the next life. If the heart was weighed down with sins and was heavier than the feather however, the heart was devoured by the demon Ammit, and the person could not enter the next life.

Bakura: So what she's getting at is that when I die I'm going to have my innards ripped out and fed to a crocodile headed demon…

Mei: Hey, I don't make the rules Bakura!

OOO

OUTTAKE BY MEI1105

He slowly blinked to clear his vision…and immediately wished he'd kept his eyes shut.

Above him hung a monstrous sight…

"Argh!" Ron screamed, backing hastily away in horror at the sight of Voldemort's visage. The Dark Lord blinked in surprise.

"What?" he asked, replacing the compact inside his robes. "Its only face powder…"

OOO

Yeah there is a story behind that rather bizarre little snippet. It revolves around another story I co-wrote with my friends about four years ago, just before I got into fanfiction…but I won't go into that. Let's just say that story is the whole reason I find it so hard to take Voldie seriously (giggles).

More good news...I officially a few days ago started drafting Magic Monsters Dominions and Destiny. Its going to be a very long time before its posted though. I have a LOT of plot to sort out, though I'm going to try my hardest to keep it shorter than this story (though given the timeframe I've set out for this story, that's given).

Anyway, to round off, the next update will be….(drumroll) on New Years Eve! (evil laugh). Can you all last till then? Actually I think you probably can. Contrary to what some of my friends believe, I DO realise people have lives outside fanfiction – especially at Christmas and New Year. Speaking of which, I'm supposed to be packing for France. See you all later!


	32. Chapter 32: The Last Soul Standing

**Disclaimer: **(Bakura enters the room) What in the hells?...I have to do a bloody disclaimer? The comatose authoress lying on the floor does not own YuGiOh or Harry Potter. There! Was that good enough?

**A/N: **Well since Mei isn't here to do the Authors Note, I guess this leaves the King of Thieves to steal the job. (kicks Mei) I suppose this is what she gets for hiding in a box all week to save her ass from scary rabid reviewers. So its up to me to introduce this ridiculous story today.

Before that, Mei wanted to thank everyone for reviewing – I personally think you're all wasting your time. You could be doing something constructive, like robbing people. Nonetheless, she certainly appreciates your reviews, and even if they have been clogging up her inbox, they make her very happy – and with very limited internet this week, that is something that has been very difficult to do – I think her DS has been getting a workout in light of her state of online non existence…I should steal that thing.

Anyway, here is 32. (kicks Mei again) Hmm…I should take advantage of her comatose state. Where are those marker pens…?

* * *

**Chapter 32: ****The Last Soul Standing**

Deep in the castle of the Dominion of the Beasts, Dark Magician Girl stood waiting. Here and there around the chamber, other duel spirits were clustered. They were the few survivors left that had not been taken by the Great Beast when it had started assimilating souls. They had gathered and they were waiting for the call to battle. When the Item Bearers and the Chosen Duellists entered into the fight against the Leviathan, they would join in, making their last stand, and helping in whatever way they were capable of.

However, their patient wait was shattered suddenly, as a loud roar of anguish echoed throughout the realm. Dark Magician Girl looked up suddenly, recognising the wail, and sprinting to one of the windows. A huge dragon soared past the window, the fading daylight bouncing off pure white scales, and the flap of two great powerful wings adding to the noise that the creature was making. The blonde sorceress gasped as she recognised the spirit soaring through the air, and she felt a chill go through her as she heard the spirit's voice scream in agony and fear.

"Seto!"

OOO

Voldemort was surprised to see Potter still alive. The spell had worked, he would have felt it otherwise. There was a loud thump as a body hit the ground, and a scream of denial from one of the Bearers – Mutou he realised.

"No! Kaiba!"

Too late, Voldemort noticed the CEO lying face down at Potter's feet. The fool had obviously jumped in and taken the blast.

Harry himself was in a state of shock. The last few seconds were a blur. By all reason he should be dead. But Kaiba had jumped in front of him, giving his own life for someone he barely knew.

For Harry.

Another person had died because of him.

Harry felt feeling return to his numb insides in a sickening rush. Grief for the young man who was now lying dead before him. Denial, that he really had sacrificed himself for his sake. Agony as he heard Yugi scream a scream of pure pain and anguish. Distress that yet another person had died because they had got between him and Voldemort…another life wasted. Overwhelming all these feelings, was anger. Anger that Voldemort had killed again, and again, and he wouldn't stop for anyone or anything.

"Kaiba!" Yugi was still screaming, gripping the still CEOs shoulder. "Kaiba! Wake up!"

Hermione, who had tears spilling out onto her own cheeks, pulling Yugi away, knowing that it was hopeless. Ron shook Harry by the shoulder, snapping his friend out of his mixture of emotions. Ryou had tears in his own eyes, and Malik looked as though he were going to be sick.

Yugi's mind was reeling. It was like Grandpa being stuck in the videotape…like Joey dying in the Shadow Game on the top of the Duel Tower…like Kaiba losing his soul in his duel against Pegasus…only this time it wasn't his soul…

/_Not Kaiba_/ Yugi thought, his mind not focusing clearly on anything but that certainty. /_Never Kaiba…he would never…_/

But he had…

Yugi's will to fight seemed to drain away as Hermione pulled him back. The purple in his eyes vanished too, replaced instead by furious crimson as Yugi succumbed to the overwhelming agony of losing a loved one in the dark and disorder of his soul room.

Yami was angry.

Beyond angry. He was enraged as he fixed his gaze on Voldemort. This man had murdered his rival…his friend…someone he held dear to his soul. He would pay!

Harry got there first however, leaping to his feet and screaming the first curse that came to his mind. Voldemort easily deflected it, but he was unprepared for the second blast fired by the Pharaoh in rapid succession.

"You have murdered our friend, now you must die!" the enraged ex king bellowed, before stowing Yugi's wand away and firing a blast of shadow magic at the wizard. He would not use wizard magic to make this man pay. He would use the shadows, the most deadly power of all, to rip Voldemort's poor excuse for a soul from his body and scatter it among the Shadow Realm. Only then would his rage be satiated…only then would Voldemort have paid enough for Kaiba's death…this man would suffer an eternity in hell!

OOO

Though Voldemort would not show it, he was impressed, and slightly alarmed at the rage of the man before him. He had known all along that their loved ones were a weak spot for the bearers, but he never imagined that their anger would make their power this great. This was a strong soul fighting before him, ripe for sealing and feeding to his cause…to his own immortal life.

The fact that Potter was fighting only made it sweeter. The boy had spent his whole life evading him, and now, here in this chamber, the Dark Lord was determined to see it end. If the boy's blood coursed through his veins, his soul would feed his lifespan. Potter was nothing more than fuel…all these pathetic humans were.

"…_Feed the power…give their souls to me…_"

Voldemort was startled as he deflected another jinx, this time from Potter. The voice was hissing and held an undercurrent of menace. It was like the voice he had heard before – the voice of the Shadows – only different. What magic was this that was causing thoughts to penetrate his mind? His mental defences were too strong for anything to overcome.

"_Ah but Potter did,"_ the voice reminded him. "_He is your weakness little pawn…as he always will be!"_

Impossible! Potter was no threat to him! And now he would prove it!

OOO

Ryou had not moved since Kaiba had fallen. Shock had crashed over him and over him, wave after wave, never ending. It was only when Bakura took over that his body moved again.

The thief himself had very little love for the CEO, but what Kaiba had just done for Harry had been noble…foolish, but noble. His act had been to protect Harry from this madman…and strangely enough, Bakura felt his respect for Kaiba rising. He mentally nodded and got to his feet. He would make sure Kaiba's sacrifice hadn't been for nothing, and right now, that meant protecting Harry.

Malik was moving too, joining in the fray with whatever help he could. Jinxes were flying thick and fast around the chamber, and the magic was building again, hanging in the air like a thick gas – one spark would set it off again, and they could be ripped from their bodies once more, and who knew where they would end up this time?

Bakura knew this underground cavern well, and consequently he was the first to notice that the jinxes were not hitting their targets…rather they were hitting the walls and support pillars of the chamber, causing cracks to appear in the stone, and the pillars to crumble to the ground. A tremor seemed to run through the room, and Bakura knew what was happening.

Harry and Malik were fighting in earnest, with Ron and Hermione helping wherever they could, but the real danger Bakura could see was Yami. The Pharaoh was so angry that he didn't seem to care who or what he hit with his shadow magic, as long as there was a chance he would get Voldemort in the process. Too late, Bakura realised that a piece of Orichalcum was glowing from around the Dark Lord's neck, causing everyone's already grief stricken and angered tempers to explode.

The ceiling gave another rumble, and a slab of stone came very close to ending Bakura and Ryou's lives. The thief darted towards the Pharaoh, dodging curses and bits of falling roof as he went. Seizing his arm and waist, Bakura held the enraged Yami back.

"Pharaoh stop!"

Yami's furious glare turned on the older spirit.

"He killed Kaiba!" the Pharaoh was almost screaming in anger.

"I know!" Bakura barked. "But you're not thinking straight! If you keep attacking like this, the whole chamber could collapse!"

As he spoke, another chunk of rock broke away and plummeted down on them. Both spirits looked up, knowing that they would never be able to move in time…but they had no need. With a moan of anger, the ghostly apparitions that were once the citizens of Kul Elna appeared, their forms weak, and unable to do much to help, but they were enough to stop the falling debris temporarily and give Yami and Bakura time to dash out of the way before the boulder crashed to the ground with a thud. The rest of the spirits swarmed the chamber, and seemed to merge with the wall. The trembling of the rocks stopped, and the ceiling ceased to move, gaping wounds left where the rocks had crumbled from it.

There was a groan from the floor, and Yami saw in horror, that Malik was lying on the floor, blood trickling from a wound on his head. Next to him was a slab of rock that had been part of the roof. An inch to the left and Malik's skull could have been crushed. They both hurried to his side.

"Malik! Speak to me!" Bakura demanded, as Yami rolled their friend over, checking the extent of the injury.

"You're ugly as sin Bakura…" came a weak, but sarcastic voice. Bakura looked relieved, and for once he did not try and hide it. Malik's eyes had a dazed look about them, and his pupils were different sizes. Bakura could tell instantly that he had concussion. They had to get him out of there.

Only the bearers had seen the spirits intervention, and Malik get injured. Harry had not taken his eyes off Voldemort for a second. His anger still coursed through him like a strong poison; only rather than numbing his limbs it energised them. He knew Ron and Hermione were by his side now that Bakura had halted Yami. Their curses, jinxes and hexes moved flawlessly together. Where one fell, the others backed them up. The three of them worked together, like a single force, driving Voldemort further across the chamber as he deflected each spell, but could find no opening to return the fire.

"_They are truly by my side," _Harry thought, as Hermione stumbled on a bit of fallen rock, and Ron supported her, all the while covering their position with a stunning spell, which the Dark Lord deflected with ease. "_In everything they are both there to support me." _His love for his two best friends cleared his head a little and the anger lifted slightly.

He took a good look at his opponent. Voldemort showed no signs of being tired, and his gaze bore into Harry's, causing his scar to throb painfully. Harry ignored it. He could see that what Malik had said earlier had been correct. The last time he had seen the Dark Lord both his eyes had been red. Now one of them was a sickly Orichalcos green. As if thinking of the magic triggered it, Voldemort smirked, and he reached up to grip the chain around his neck. Harry felt his stomach freeze with dread, and immediately shouted the first spell that came to his head.

"_Expelliarmus!"_

The stone snapped from the chain and flew across the room, clattering across the floor, but not shattering. Voldemort gave a scream of rage, and waved his wand once more, blasting all three teens off their feet. Harry landed hard on the floor, his head slamming against the stone causing pain to fog his vision. From the yells of pain next to him, Hermione and Ron had just endured similar landings.

Voldemort took a step forward. Potter and his friends were down, Ishtar had been struck by a falling rock and lay dazed to one side, with the Pharaoh and the Thief King by his side. He could end any of their lives now…the question was who.

His eyes locked on Yami and Bakura, and he decided that he had let the Bearers live long enough.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

Yami and Bakura's hands reached for their decks, even as the curse was bellowed, but the streak of deadly green light never came. Instead, it was pure white lightning, which streaked across the chamber, slamming into Voldemort, sending him flying back against the wall of the chamber.

Blue Eyes White Dragon roared her joy to the whole chamber, and beside her, pale faced and leaning on a pillar for support, was Seto Kaiba.

OOO

The Shadows giggled.

"_Our wielders survive! The Keeper of the Blue Eyes is alive! You shall fail!"_

The Orichalcos hissed.

"_Never! The Great Beast cannot be stopped now! Your magic shall crumble, along with your precious bearers!"_

OOO

Kaiba controlled his face as he stood up straighter, his duel disk active, and Blue Eyes, cramped in the small enclosed space behind him. He could tell his dragon was far from happy about the lack of room to move, but there was little he could do about it – given his current physical state, he was lucky to have been able to summon her at all.

"K-kaiba…?"

Yugi – though it was Yami, Kaiba noted – sounded as though he were in shock. Ishtar was giving him a dazed look, as though he were unsure whether the blow to his head had knocked him silly or not. Bakura looked as though he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Harry, Ron and Hermione were picking themselves up and also staring at him in various states of disbelief.

/_He's alive…_/ Yugi's voice was faint to Yami through the mindlink, but he heard him anyway, the words the only thing capable of penetrating his mind at the moment. /_He's alive…_/

"How?" Bakura finally managed to splutter.

"Simple," Kaiba said, trying to sound casual, as he withdrew a card from an active spell/trap zone on his duel disk. It was Negate Attack.

//_He stopped the blast…just in time by the looks of it_// Yami thought, his joy eclipsed with worry now that he saw just how strained Kaiba looked.

/_Keeping the trap going enough to absorb that attack must have been hard, especially since he doesn't practise his magic regularly_/ Yugi thought. /_I can't believe it…he's alive…I thought we had lost him!_/

//_So did I_// Yami added. //_Keeping the trap going must have drained all his energy and knocked him out…no wonder we thought he was gone_//

"You…you idiot!" Malik burst out suddenly. "Don't do that to us again! We all thought you were…"

He couldn't finish, and he winced as pain lanced through his skull. Kaiba rolled his eyes, but deep inside, he could feel the strain on his body. He was exhausted, and he was struggling to keep his legs from giving way beneath him. The pain in his chest, which was a combination of the force of the curse, which had knocked him out temporarily after his trap had absorbed it, and the magical strain, was throbbing in time to the beat of his heart. He desperately wanted to get out of this chamber.

"Don't we have a school to rescue?" he snapped.

His words knocked Yami back to his senses. In the aftermath of Kaiba's supposed death, and the fight with Voldemort he now remembered the reason they had returned from the Dominion of Souls – to save Hogwarts before the Orichalcos could take the souls of everyone there. He nodded and got swiftly to his feet.

"We have to go," he ordered, his voice sounding stronger once again. Bakura was thinking the same now, and stood up too, taking Malik's arm and slinging it over his shoulder so that the concussed Egyptian had means of support and guidance. Kaiba grunted as he moved away from the pillar, determined to move on his own steam. Harry's head swung around to the wall where Voldemort had landed. Debris that had been bits of a pillar and the roof littered the floor, but Harry knew somewhere in that rubble laid the Dark Lord.

"What happened to him?" he asked.

"Unconscious probably," Kaiba said dismissively, and Blue Eyes gave a growl in agreement. "Why? Do you want to go looking for him in that mess?"

Harry didn't answer, but he didn't need too. Everyone could tell what was going through his mind. If Voldemort was down, it would be the perfect time to finally finish him once and for all…to rid the Wizarding World of a great danger…

"Harry," Yami's voice interrupted Harry's thoughts. "Though I may not follow my own advice all the time, I believe the most important thing a person does is live their life with honour. There is no honour in killing a man while he is down…even Voldemort."

His words had the desired effect, and Harry got to his feet and pulled Ron and Hermione up after him. Yami was right Harry thought. If he killed Voldemort just because Kaiba's dragon had knocked him unconscious, what made him different from the Dark Lord? He would be no better than the Death Eaters, who took advantage of any situation to murder someone.

"How are we getting to the school?" he asked.

"Which ever way is quickest," Yami said, as they made their way to the staircase, turning their back on all the debris.

"We could floo there," Ron suggested. "We just need to get to a fireplace that's connected to the network."

"Is the network still open around the school?" Bakura asked suspiciously. "I would have thought they would have closed it off."

"It's closed to all but students," Hermione confirmed. "We can get back."

"The nearest connected fireplace has to be back in Luxor," Yami said. "We'll never make it back in time."

"We can apperate," Hermione suggested. "We can get back to Luxor now that we know where we're going. The only reason we couldn't apperate here was because no one knew the location of the village."

"Okay," Bakura said briskly, heaving Malik a little higher up on his shoulder. "We have a plan. Now lets go."

Swiftly, and with a lot on their minds, the group left the chamber.

OOO

The Orichalcos screamed in anger.

The bearers had escaped!

They would pay for this!

No more games. No more hiding behind pawns. No more waiting.

Atlantian magic shot from its source, connecting the empowered Great Beast to every stone in the castle.

It was time to raise the Leviathan…

OOO

Voldemort stirred, feeling debris and rubble press uncomfortably against him. Rage smothered out the aching he should have felt from the attack. He didn't know how that wretched CEO had survived his killing curse, but he would make sure he paid. The Orichalcos stone that he had been wearing around his neck glowed, and he stretched out to reach it.

As his fingers clenched the chain, he raised his head and saw that the chamber had undertaken a drastic change. Thick purple shadows were filling the air, and the same spirits that had been holding the chamber together earlier were now drifting lazily around, a sense of anticipation accompanying them. Voldemort didn't like it. As he got to his feet, three clusters of shadow magic began to gather, taking the form of what looked like two people and a bird.

The first was a woman dressed in deep blue robes, with a large strangely shaped headdress. She frowned sternly at the sight of the Dark Lord. The second figure, looked to be half angel half demon, and held the woman's hand as though guiding her into the room. There was a shrill cry from the third creature, which was a magnificent bird with blue feathers, and a long elegant tail. It sat on the woman's shoulder and gave the Dark Lord a disdainful look.

"He is the one," Change of Heart said in a grave voice. Maha Vailo glared harder.

"You are the one who dared harm the bearers."

"Who are you?!" the Dark Lord barked, recognising the creatures to be Duel Monsters, but not understanding why they were here of all places. He couldn't help but notice that the spirits of Kul Elna were particularly drawn to Faith Bird, who looked happily around at them. The next voice seemed to come from the winged beast, and it had a ring of innocence to it.

"You lost to them…the Priest knocked you out with the White Dragon. You lose, so your soul must be judged."

The Dark Lord snarled as the shadows grew thicker and began to lap at his skin like a hungry creature. He knew he did not have long, and instantly pressed his wand to the pale skin on his forearm…where the Dark Mark was branded on the arm of every one of his loyal Death Eaters. Whatever these Duel Monsters did to him, his Death Eaters would finish his job and take Hogwarts School.

"Penalty Game!" the three monsters shouted in unison, and the shadows smothered the Dark Lord instantly.

OOO

Lucius Malfoy was pacing in agitation. He and the ten other Death Eaters chosen to go on this mission waited on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, listening to the sounds of the village go by, and occasionally catching a roar of anger from the attacking Orichalcos Gigas at the castle.

Lucius paced harder as the sounds of battle reached his ears again. He knew what was happening at that castle…and he knew his son was there. Fighting…he didn't know why the boy was suddenly so attached to the place that he would want to stay there over Easter, or not to evacuate with the rest of the school. In fact, he couldn't explain a lot of his son's behaviour lately. Ever since he had mysteriously been taken ill in those few months after Christmas, he had been behaving differently. His letters home had become fewer, and the attitude in them was alarmingly atypical.

"Lucius."

Lucius almost winced. His wife's voice had become frailer and frailer the longer they waited, and Lucius knew that Narcissa too was worried for her child.

"If Draco is still in that school when the stones go off…"

"I know," Lucius said, repressing a shudder. His wife's eyes, normally sharp in private, or emotionless in front of their master, were full of tears.

"I will not allow my son to be a soul for our Master's cause," she whispered, aware that if any of the other Death Eaters heard her now, her life would be forfeit. "If I have the chance to prevent Draco from becoming a sacrifice, I will do so…at any cost."

Lucius nodded. He had expected no less truth be told. Draco was their only child, and he always would be, for it was unlikely that Narcissa would bare any more children. Her maternal instinct would always be stronger than anything the Dark Lord told her to do…but could Lucius bring himself to do the same? Which of his loyalties had more hold over him?

"His signal!" one of the Death Eaters bellowed, and instantly the sky was lit up with the green glow of the Orichalcos, as every stone in the castle was activated, coinciding with a searing pain on the arm of every Death Eater where their Dark Mark was branded.

It was time for them to take the castle…

OOO

"Are you sure you're up to this Kaiba?" Malik asked cautiously.

"For the last time," Kaiba said, his patience stretched incredibly thin. "I am fine Ishtar. Now unlock the door and get us to the fireplace already!"

Malik resisted the urge to salute, for he realised that this was not the time or the place for humour, nor was he feeling up to it (his head was still throbbing). Kaiba was up and walking and apparently able to issue orders, therefore he was fine. He had borne the short walk from the centre of Luxor to the Ishtar's house with a blank look on his face. Only Yugi and Yami noticed the slightly dazed look in the CEOs eyes that indicated that their rival was not as fine as he claimed.

In actual fact, Kaiba knew he wasn't a hundred percent at all. But he would rather die than show any form of weakness, especially in front of the geek squad. His mask was effective at hiding how he really felt – the curse hitting him in the chest with the force of twenty cars…the effort it took to keep Negate Attack running to absorb a curse that powerful…and even worse, the screams in his ears…not belonging to Yugi or anyone else present now…but the ones in his head…_her_ screams…

He shook his head angrily. He was _not _hearing voices damn it! He had to pull it together. Whether he was or wasn't having more hallucinations, they were heading into a very dangerous situation from what Yugi and the British kids had explained on their way back to Luxor. He needed to focus on that…getting to this school of theirs, and dealing with the Orichalcos.

…Maybe then he would have some peace in his life.

But glancing at his spiky haired rival as this thought crossed his mind, Kaiba felt himself snort internally.

"_Peace? With Yugi around? Yeah right…"_

Rubbing his head, Malik unlocked the door and the mortis lock before stepping into the hall of the house. He disabled the burglar alarm as the others stepped in and took a look at the Ishtar's house. The rooms were light and cool in the darkness of the early morning, and despite the fact that the Ishtars had not lived here permanently for some time, the place was reasonably well kept. The walls of the hall were whitewashed and the floor was cool stone tiles.

"Over here," Malik said, leading them all into a room on the left side of the hall, which turned out to be the dining room.

"Malik I'm going to call the others," Ryou said, as his friend busied himself with the fireplace. "Can I use your phone?"

"Table by the stairs in the hall," Malik instructed, now rummaging in the drawers of the dresser for matches.

"Their phones will be switched off if they're in the hospital," Yugi reminded him. "Call Grandpa. He can get a message to them."

The albino nodded and hastily exited the room.

"Hermione," Malik said, as he continued to hunt. "Can you do me a favour and go into the room directly across the hall from this one? It's the kitchen. Grab me an ice pack from the freezer. My head is killing me."

Hermione hastily did as she was told, dashing off across the room and out of the door again. Yugi crouched besides Kaiba, who had sat down in one of the chairs surrounding the table.

"Are you sure you're okay Kaiba?" he asked. Kaiba mentally rolled his eyes.

"I'm fine Yugi," he said again. "Do I need to repeat myself for the sixth time this evening?"

"Don't brush me off!" Yugi snapped, and Kaiba was slightly shocked to see tears in the young man's large eyes.

"_He's crying over me_," he thought. "_How cute…"_

"Save your tears," Kaiba tried to dismiss his rival, even though the eyes were tugging at a part of him that normally only Mokuba could reach. "I'm alright."

"No you're not," Yugi whispered sadly, but he backed off as requested. Kaiba felt a fleeting moment of panic that Yugi had seen past his mask. But then he mused; the mask never seemed to work on his rival. He always saw right through it…no matter whose eyes were looking…

Kaiba shook his head again, cursing himself for letting that thought enter his head. However much Yugi and the rest of these dorks might believe it, there were no such things as spirits!

"Mother of Ra!" Malik snapped impatiently, his headache making him short tempered. "Why do the matches vanish right when I need them the most?"

"Malik, why are you looking for matches?" Ron asked. "You're a wizard aren't you?"

Malik would have smacked himself around the head if he hadn't already whacked it quite hard before, and quickly pulled out his wand. Hermione reappeared at this point, carrying an ice pack, and to Malik's relief, a packet of paracetamol. Not caring for water, the Egyptian swallowed them dry before slapping the pack over the already swollen lump on his head.

"Malik, where does that room lead to?" Yami asked suddenly, nodding at a door on the same wall as the fireplace.

"The library," Malik said not looking up from the fire. "I wouldn't try the door if I were you," he added, seeing Hermione move towards it curiously. "Only Ishizu, Odion and I have keys."

Yami understood the hidden words in the Tomb Keepers voice, and immediately knew why his attention had been drawn to that room. That must be where the Ishtar's kept their records, including all known details about his rule of Egypt.

While Malik returned to the hall to reset the alarms, Harry took the seat next to Kaiba. He swallowed, not entirely sure how to form words in front of the cold, aloof teen. Kaiba however, beat him too it.

"You're welcome," he said, in a flat emotionless voice. Harry was surprised that Kaiba had just dismissed him so casually.

"Why did you?" he asked, before he could stop himself. "Not that I'm not grateful, because I am. I'm just curious. You barely know me."

Kaiba scowled at the floor, and resisted the urge to flinch as his chest gave another painful throb.

"I've seen enough death at the hands of this madman," he said shortly, standing up as Ryou re-entered the room.

"Any change?" Yugi asked anxiously. Ryou shook his head.

"Tristan called from the hospital an hour ago," he said. "No change."

Yugi seemed to deflate slightly, and Malik quickly cleared his throat.

"Okay I don't have much powder left," the Egyptian boy said, shaking the small sack. "But it should be enough to get us to the school."

He threw a small handful in, and the flames turned emerald green once more. Harry went first, stepping in without preamble.

"Hogwarts School!"

And he vanished in a whirl of flames, praying silently as he went that they would arrive in time.

OOO

It was a quiet lunchtime at the Kame Game shop. Most people were at their own jobs, and as it was Saturday, most students were off school unless they had club activities. Most of them chose to pursue shops closer to the city centre in one of the city's extensive malls, rather than heading to the outskirts for a card game shop.

Just as well, because Solomon Mutou was too distracted to focus properly on the store at the moment.

Not five minutes after he had got off the phone with Ryou, an excited Tea had called from the hospital to let him know that Joey was awake. Solomon had tried redialling the Ishtar's house in Luxor, but no one had answered. Disappointed that he had missed them, the elderly man had settled down behind the counter, and had unconsciously began shuffling his own deck. The repetitive, familiar action soothed his anxious mind slightly. He was thrilled Joey was awake, for he was genuinely concerned about the young man who meant so much to his grandson, and indeed to himself.

Relief upon hearing the news from the hospital had replaced his worry for Joey. But now his thoughts were of anxiety again, this time over Yugi. He could feel in his bones that this was one of the hardest battles that Yugi had ever fought. Though his past experience with ancient magic, and the tales of his grandson's own experience made him sure that Yugi could handle it, it didn't stop the familiar protective feeling and fear that came with knowing that a loved one was in danger and there was nothing he could do to help.

As rain began to beat down on the roof of the shop and splatter against the door, Solomon sighed. Customers would be a long time in coming, as would a distraction from his worried thoughts.

OOO

On the other side of the world, somewhere in northern California, it was five o clock in the afternoon and a small mobile home stood off one side of the road in the middle of a rolling expanse of dry deserted land. It was inside this stationary mobile home that a hushed webcam conversation was going on.

"So Joey is okay?" the male voice on the other end of the line asked. Rebecca Hawkins tweaked the arms of her glasses a little, and took a sip of her coffee. Her grandfather insisted it was bad for her, but one small mug would not kill her. She hadn't been sleeping well lately anyway, and she'd need it if she didn't want to nod off during dinner.

"Yeah, Yugi's grandfather called my grandfather about ten minutes ago. He asked me to let you know. I don't think he's got your number."

"Yugi does, but Solomon doesn't," the man on the other end of the line replied. "Thanks for letting me know Becks."

"No problem Duke," Rebecca assured him.

"Did Solomon say anything else?" Duke asked, sitting back in his leather office chair. "About the Orichalcos maybe?"

"Yeah, he said Yugi and the others had gone to help the wizards," Rebecca said. "But he didn't say much else. I don't think Yugi's grandfather really knows much else about what's going on over there to be honest."

"It's probably safer for him," Duke admitted. "But really, ever since the Orichalcos came back, I've had this feeling that none of us are safe anymore."

"Me too…" Rebecca shuddered. "It's like the world has gone dark again or something."

She trailed off, taking another sip of coffee for comfort.

"So when do you guys get back to San Francisco?" Duke asked.

"Hopefully tomorrow," Rebecca replied. "Reconstruction of the house is coming along fine, so we'll head back and start packing up our things. Grandpa wants it all done before I…sorry, before _we _have to leave for the World Championships in August."

Duke smiled. "It'll be good to see everyone again."

"Yeah," Rebecca smiled, but her mind tagged on an unspoken worry.

"_If we all survive that long…_"

OOO

They were greeted in the castle by the sounds of crashing fists on stone. The school was withstanding the beatings, but each punch caused the very foundations to tremble. But no one in the castle heard it. The corridors were silent and the classrooms empty of life as the fireplace in the Gryffindor tower burst into life.

Having been brought up in a country where earthquakes were a regular hazard, Yugi and Kaiba gathered their wits first, the shaking of the building not throwing them off in the slightest. Everyone else regained their balance after the quakes subsided.

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered. "They must be pummelling this place. Why aren't they blasting them back? Where is everyone?"

Harry looked around, and was horrified to discover that the Gryffindor tower, which had been manned when they left, was now empty of people. Neville, Seamus and Lavender had disappeared.

"I can feel magic in the air," Yami said, concentrating, a grim look on his face. "And no life. The stones must have activated."

"You mean…?" Hermione's voice vanished as her mouth went dry with fear. Yami nodded gravely.

"The Orichalcos has the souls of everyone in the building," Bakura said in a bitter voice. "That means it won't be long now before the Leviathan is awakened."

"We can get them back though, right?" Hermione asked fearfully.

"We can," Yami nodded. "Once the Leviathan is beaten, the souls will be released and returned."

She looked terrified, and as Ron moved closer to Hermione for comfort, it dawned on Yami just how different and terrifying this situation was for Harry, Ron and Hermione than it was for them. They may have faced danger before, but the Orichalcos surpassed a lot of what they had dealt with in the past. It was brave of them to have come this far, and to trust them to know what was going on.

"But we don't know where the Leviathan will strike," Bakura said. "Where did it strike last time?"

"It arose from beneath Atlantis," Yami said. "Because that's where Dartz offered his soul up – the trigger to awaken it."

"So if all these souls were the trigger this time," Malik said. "Then the odds are that the Leviathan will show up at the school."

"Erm guys…" Harry said, peering out of the window in the direction of the school gates. "We have bigger problems right now."

Everyone gathered around the window. Beyond the winged boars that guarded the gates into Hogwarts, dark figures were moving through the ruins that had been the entrance into the school before the Orichalcos Gigas had beaten them down.

"Death Eaters!" Bakura growled.

"I count…eleven I think," Ron said, squinting through the darkness. "The must have thought they could just walk in here once You-Know-Who had everyone's souls taken."

"And if their bodies are killed, their souls have nowhere to return," Yami said. "We need to stop them getting into the school."

As he spoke, another Orichalcos Gigas roared and pounded its fist into the castle. Everyone stumbled.

"Let's not waste anymore time," Kaiba barked, and all seven of them raced toward the portrait.

It was clear as they ran through the corridors that the Orichalcos had done its job. Harry, Ron and Hermione in particular made varying sounds of distress as they passed comatose forms in the corridors, recognising them as fellow students or their teachers. Yami, Bakura and Malik tried not to let it bother them, focusing on their goal instead, but silently vowing that they would save everyone left in the school. Kaiba of course, had no emotional attachment to any of these people, and focused instead on the upcoming fight.

The Entrance hall was the most disturbing by far. The unconscious forms of the seventh years, Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore littered the floor. Hermione squeaked and covered her mouth. Ron looked ill and Harry's eyes fixed on Dumbledore, feeling the world spin as he observed the Headmaster's body. He struggled to remind himself that it was only temporary. They would get everyone's souls back.

Kaiba marched to the doors of the hall and pushed them open. The Death Eaters were almost there, and they stopped in their tracks as they saw the CEO framed in the door. Lucius Malfoy stepped forward, and a killing curse shot from his wand. Bakura yanked Kaiba out of the way and the jet of light exploded against the oak.

"Are you trying to kill yourself again?" the thief snapped. Yami stepped forward, deck in one hand, spell card in the other.

"Swords of…"

Before he could finish casting the spell, one of the Death Eaters roared "_Expelliarmus!"_ and Yami felt the card fly backwards out of his grasp. As the Pharaoh turned to grab it from the floor, another voice screamed "_Avada Kedavra!" _Yami felt Yugi panic mentally when he realised they were in full view of the doors, and directly in the path of the spell.

"_Carpe Retractum_!"

A thin golden ribbon wrapped around the Pharaoh's wrist and yanked him out of the way of the door. The killing curse slammed into the floor, sending chips of stone flying. Yami looked up to see the ribbon of magic vanish back into his saviour's wand.

"Neville!" Harry sounded relieved, and sure enough Neville and the rest of the DA were appearing from one of the corridors, their wands raised, looking shaken, but mostly unharmed and determined.

"Get the door!" Neville ordered, and three DA members obeyed immediately, pushing the heavy doors closed and barring them with whatever spells they could.

"Man is it good to see you guys!" Ron said earnestly.

"How are you still alive?" Bakura asked incredulously. "The Orichalcos stones were activated! You should have all lost your souls!"

He gestured to the comatose people on the Entrance hall floor to prove his point.

"Malfoy," Neville said simply, stepping aside to reveal the blonde Slytherin. Ron looked stunned and Harry and Bakura's eyebrows arched into their hair. Malik however was smiling.

"Told them about the stones?" he asked.

"Warned us just in time more like," Neville said. "By the time he explained it to me, he said we only had a few minutes before they were all activated. We only had just enough time to alert the rest of the DA –" he held up his coin in explanation. " – And get out of here. We've been hiding out just outside the boundaries of the school where the stones couldn't touch us."

Malik was frowning at Malfoy. "How did you know they were going to activate?"

"I can't explain it," Malfoy said. His voice was quiet and filled with regret. "Its like I just felt them…"

Yugi and Yami understood. Since Malfoy had worn a piece of the Orichalcos stone in that ring for quite some time he must have become sensitive to the magic. Sure enough, he looked ill just being back in the castle.

"We couldn't warn anyone else though," he continued. "If we'd had more time..."

He looked sadly at the floor. Neville was also looking distraught as he recognised the bodies of Dumbledore and McGonagall. Yami realised how upsetting it was for them both that they hadn't been able to save everyone.

"We will get them back," the Pharaoh said. "We just need to…"

His words were cut off as the ground shook hard, and bright green light seared through everyone's vision. Most people threw up their hands over their eyes, and some people lost their balance as the shaking began. There was a roar as all around the outside of the castle, the Orichalcos Gigas suddenly vanished, their energy streaming across the nights sky, coming to a point just above the Hogwarts lake.

The Death Eaters stopped in their tracks, and slowly, Neville pushed open the front door a crack, so that everyone in the Entrance Hall could see what was happening. The sky had turned the colours of the rainbow, as the boundary between the Dominion of the Beasts and the real world was split. The water on the lake rippled, slowly at first, and then faster until a geyser shot up in the centre. Water bounced onto the surrounding grass like tiny crystals, as from within the pillar of water appeared a monstrous sight.

A long serpentine body, with purple armoured scales and a pink underbelly, with a flowing weed like mane along its neck and the top of its head. It had two fins on the side of its neck and its wide mouth opened as the creature gave a low growl that shook everyone to the core.

"The Great Leviathan," Yami whispered. "The beast powered and controlled by the Orichalcos."

As he spoke, a clap of what sounded like thunder split across the sky, and what looked like a crack appeared in the midst of the aurora that had appeared when the Leviathan had emerged. From within, purple and black shadows raced into the sky and seemed to bleed in with the blue and green lights, almost as though the magic itself was fighting.

"The Shadows!" Bakura spluttered. "What are they doing here?!"

"This is a clash of all the dominions," Yami said, "of all the different types of magic involved in this fight."

/_The Final Judgement is here_/ Ryou whispered, unheard by anyone but his yami.

The Leviathan roared, its gaze fixing on the Death Eaters, who stood frozen on the pathway, unable to comprehend what was happening. Launching itself from the water and into the sky, the Great Beast bore down on the Death Eaters and a purple bubble of energy began to charge in its mouth.

"We know what we have to do," Yami said. Beside him, Yugi nodded in agreement.

"Let's go," Bakura agreed.

"We have an oversized snake to fry," Malik said, activating his duel disk and following his two friends toward the door.

"Would you stop with the bad puns Ishtar?" Kaiba asked, in a tone bordering on exasperation.

"No," Malik shook his head petulantly.

"Are you four nuts?" Harry asked. "You can't go out there with that Leviathan thing out there!"

"Watch us," Kaiba snapped. "You geeks can stay here and play with your magic tricks, but we're going to take that monstrosity down."

He jabbed a finger in the direction of the lake, which left no one in doubt as to what he was referring too.

"But that thing is big enough to eat you!" Ron pointed out.

"We hadn't noticed," Malik said sarcastically.

"We have to go," Yami said firmly. "You three and the DA will have to hold the Death Eaters off. We'll take care of the Leviathan."

"What can you possibly do against that creature?" Malfoy asked, scepticism laced into his voice.

"Who asked you to comment?" one of the DA members at the back of the group asked.

As Malfoy turned to glare at the person who had spoken, there was burst of light outside as the Leviathan's attack hit, accompanied by screams of pain as several of the Death Eaters were vaporised where they stood. Yami cringed. He knew that anyone struck by that blast wouldn't survive. Their souls would be fed to the Leviathan, and their bodies damaged beyond repair. There was no waking up from the Leviathan's attack.

"We don't have time for this!" Bakura snapped. "We are going out there, and nothing any of you can say will make us change our minds."

He peeked out of the door, and saw the Death Eaters racing around in disarray, obviously unsure of how to deal with this latest arrival. Some of the Death Eaters were trying in vain to fire spells at the Leviathan. All the magic was absorbed into it scales, and it only seemed to make the Great Beast angrier. The rest of the Death Eaters had apparently remembered their goal, and were advancing on the castle again.

"Pharaoh, we need to get down to the lake without getting blasted," Bakura reported.

"Allow me," Yami said, striding towards the door and throwing them open. The Death Eaters raised their wands again, but this time, the Pharaoh was quicker.

"Swords of Revealing Light!"

The cage of swords appeared, freezing the Death Eaters in place.

"That's your answer to everything!" Malik said in despair. Yami ignored him, as the Leviathan roared and began to charge up another attack.

"Move it you dweebs!" Kaiba commanded, and all four of them raced towards the lake.

"Yugi!" Harry shouted, though he knew perfectly well that it was not Yugi in charge of the body.

"Protect the school!" the Pharaoh barked over his shoulder.

Harry felt a sense of hopelessness wash over him. How could those three possibly hope to defeat the Leviathan? And for that matter…how did they possibly expect the DA to defend the school from Death Eaters?

"Harry?" Neville's voice stopped him from running after them. Harry turned around.

"You're our leader," Hermione reminded him quietly.

"What do we need to do?" Ron asked.

Harry was momentarily despairing. This wasn't a DA meeting. Just because he was their teacher, didn't mean he could order them around in a fight? He wasn't a general.

"_But if you won't lead them," _a voice in his head whispered. "_Then who will? You are the one they are looking at right now."_

He sighed. It was true. There was no one else around to help right now. Everyone was soulless. It was up to the DA to save the school, and he was the one who taught them, and would lead them through this fight…for all their sakes.

"Right…first, we need to get these doors closed. Neville…"

"Way ahead of you," Neville said, grabbing Dean and both of them pushing the giant oak doors shut with a solid thud.

"Okay, Hermione and Ginny," Harry said, pointing at the two girls in question. "Take four people each. Go up one floor and head to the south corridor overlooking the path…"

"And cover you from above," Hermione finished. "Got it."

She quickly grabbed, Lavender, Parvati, and two fourth years, which Harry knew were good at charms, and raced off. Ginny looked as though she wanted to stay and gave Harry a fierce look.

"Don't look at me that way Ginny," Harry protested. "You're one of the best people here at hexes. Now go."

Sighing a little, Ginny grabbed four people and they sped after Hermione.

"Harry," Neville interrupted. "We should move the people here," he gestured to the unconscious bodies in the middle of the Entrance Hall. "We don't want the Death Eaters to get to them."

"Where can we put them?" Harry asked.

"The kitchens!" Ron said suddenly, before grabbing a handful of the sixth and fifth years to help. "We'll take them down there. Its close and only the house elves go down there…though they're all probably soulless too."

"Okay," Harry nodded. "Everyone else, find a place to attack from. Ten of you cover the front door, ten on the staircase. Everyone else, use the doorways."

There was a rush of feet as everyone scrambled to get into a good position. Harry mentally counted. There were about thirty DA members here, as most of the younger members had been escorted out with the rest of the school earlier. Against eleven Death Eaters, they were fairly good odds. He just hoped it would be enough.

OOO

"DUCK AND COVER!" Bakura shouted in warning, as the Leviathan's attack was blasted towards the running group. All four of them dived off in different directions as the group upon which they had been standing on exploded with a resounding boom.

"Let's not waste anymore time!" Malik suggested, as they all got to their feet again while the smoke cleared. "Anyone got a last minute plan that might save our asses?"

"How about this?" Bakura shouted. "I summon Dark Necrofear, Diabound Colonel and Dark Master – Zorc!"

On cue, his three monsters appeared behind him.

"I like this plan," Malik nodded. "I summon Invader of Darkness, Felgrand Dragon and Vampire Lord!"

Invader of Darkness and Vampire Lord settled on the ground next to Bakura's monsters, while Felgrand Dragon lorded over all of them, roaring menacingly at the Leviathan.

"Come forth, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Kaiba shouted. "Twin Headed Thunder Dragon, and XYZ-Dragon Cannon!"

The three-headed Blue Eyes roared louder than Felgrand Dragon and landed with a thud next to it, as the smaller Thunder Dragon appeared, along with the Dragon Cannon.

"Dark Magician!" Yami roared, and the purple robed mage appeared, twirling his staff. "Obelisk the Tormentor! Slifer the Sky Dragon! Winged Dragon of Ra! Aid us in this fight!"

The three Egyptian Gods rose beside the Pharaoh, Obelisk dwarfing even Blue Eyes in size. Ra spread its giant, mechanical like wings, causing a beam of light to spread across the shadow-ridden sky. Slifer coiled among the other two, letting out a roar at the Leviathan, the blast of air ruffling Yami's hair. He exchanged a nod with Kaiba, and three more names were called.

"Timaeus and Hermos!"

"Critias!"

The three Legendary Dragons were visible for a split second before Yami called out another command.

"I activate Legend of Heart!" he bellowed. "Arise, Legendary Knights of Atlantis!"

Where the dragons had been standing, there now stood the three knights of Atlantis. Their armour matched the colour that their scales had been, and all three of them took defensive stances, as they stood before the two remaining Chosen Duellists.

"So that's what they really look like," Malik mused. As he spoke, the aurora of lights in the sky suddenly seemed to triple in brightness. The Leviathan shield away, roaring as if the bright colours caused it pain.

/_It's the Dominion of the Beasts!_/ Yugi said, remembering what the lights had signified last time. Yami too, began to grin as from the sky; a million monsters hovering in bubbles of energy appeared, Dark Magician Girl leading them down.

"Hey is that…?" Bakura asked.

/_It's Dark Magician Girl!_/ Ryou said excitedly. /_What is she doing here?_/

The spellcasters eyes found the four teens and their monsters, and she nodded at them.

"Monsters!" she called to the rest of the creatures hovering around her. "Unite and attack! Aid the chosen duellists in this fight!"

The monsters charged at the Leviathan, their protective bubbles crashing into the beast, sending little sparks of light into the air when they connected with its hide.

"Guess that's our cue," Malik said.

"Go!" Kaiba roared at his dragons.

"Attack the Great Leviathan!" Bakura barked to his own monsters.

In one movement, all the monsters rose up. Ra and Slifer sent powerful blasts of energy at the Great Beast, with Blue Eyes, Felgrand Dragon and Twin Headed Thunder Dragon following up with their own attacks. Obelisk ploughed its mighty fist into the Leviathan's body, causing it to shriek in surprise and pain. XYZ-Dragon Cannon, Zorc, Invader of Darkness and Dark Necrofear launched their attacks from the ground, being unable to get closer, while Diabound, Dark Magician and Vampire Lord took off from the ground and hit the Leviathan's head with the full force of their attacks. Finally, Timaeus, Critias and Hermos leaped for the Leviathan's face, slashing their swords across the flesh and causing the Leviathan to cry out again.

Yami and Yugi waited, holding their breath in a tense fashion. If they had been duelling they would have just dealt the Leviathan well over forty thousand points of damage. But they both knew that the Leviathan did not go down that easily…although, if its anguished cries at the hands of the attacks were anything to go by, it was having harder time taking the pain.

/_Less time to absorb souls, less resistance_/ Yugi guessed. Yami mentally nodded, but the fact that the Leviathan was still standing brought a dark feeling of dread over the group.

"How the hell did it survive that?!" Malik demanded. "We just hit it with all that power…"

"I think we've gone beyond attack points," Ryou said, appearing next to his yami. "This is a clash of all sorts of different magic."

He looked up at the sky as he spoke, where the Shadows continued to wrestle with the Orichalcos.

"Pharaoh, how did you beat that thing last time?" Bakura demanded.

"The Egyptian Gods were fuelled with the light of everyone who was trapped within the Leviathan," Yami explained quickly. "With no darkness to feed it, and with the combined strength of everyone's hearts, the Gods beat it."

"Well I don't know about you," Malik said. "But I don't think that is going to work this time. Not nearly as many souls for a start. And there's no other source of power around here that we can leech from to make our monsters more powerful."

Yami agreed, though the thought brought despair crashing down on him. It was true. Unlike last time, when the Leviathan had been fuelled by souls that it had been collecting for ten thousand years, this time there were only a years worth of souls powering it. Not nearly enough to provide the energy to stop it. And Malik was right. Even with the increase of their powers over the last year, there was no way they could amass enough energy…

…unless…

"Wait!" Yami gasped. "There is magic we can channel."

"What are you on about?" Bakura demanded.

"Heads up!" Malik interrupted suddenly, and in a streak of purple light, the Leviathan launched an attack directly at Ra. The great golden sun god bellowed and countered the blast, with Slifer and Obelisk's help. The magic exploded into the air before it could reach any of the monsters.

"Attack again!" Bakura barked at his own monsters, who obeyed immediately. "Now what's this about Pharaoh?"

"You said it yourself Bakura," Yami explained in a rush. "We've been absorbing power since we entered this world. That's why summoning our monsters has got easier. We've been drawing power from the school."

"Wait…you think we can draw power from the school and channel it to our monster's strength?" Ryou asked.

"It worked when Bakura sent Souls of the Forgotten to spy!" Yugi pointed out excitedly. "Why shouldn't it work this time?"

"I don't think it'll be that easy," Bakura said in a grim tone. "The school is still full of Orichalcos stones. With all this magic in the air, they'll be reacting to it, and that will make it harder to draw any energy from our surroundings."

"Then we get rid of the stones!" Yami said firmly, before raising his voice.

"Dark Magician Girl! We need your help!"

None of them could see her in amongst the fighting monsters, but she obviously heard them, because a second later, she was floating at their sides.

"Pharaoh?"

"We need your help," Yami said urgently. "We may have a plan, but we need you to remove all the Orichalcos stones from the castle."

If Dark Magician Girl found these instructions strange, she did not show it.

"Right," she nodded, before taking to the air again and calling to the monsters from the Dominion of the Beasts. A small group of them flew off quickly toward the castle.

"I hope you know what you're doing Pharoah," Malik muttered.

"What _we're _doing," Yami corrected.

OOO

Kabia knew from the look on his face that Yami – _Yugi _he corrected himself furiously – had a plan. He didn't know exactly what this plan entailed, but he knew the King of Games had one – he had been on the receiving end of that look too many times before. And as much as it pained him to ally himself with Yugi and the rest of his friends, he couldn't help but hope that this plan would work. Because against a creature with infinite strength and immunity to card effects, there was not much their monsters could do other than keep it distracted.

"Blue Eyes, attack again!" Kaiba shouted. His dragon roared joyfully and blasted lightning at the Leviathan. The Great Beast was apparently done with just hovering in the air, and it seemed to slither through the sky against the aurora in the sky, dodging the attack, which fizzled out somewhere in the sky.

"Damn that thing is fast," Malik cursed, and Kaiba realised that they had finally stopped plotting and had returned to the fight. "Felgrand Dragon, after it!"

The dragon did as instructed and took off for the Great Beast, latching onto the middle of its body with its jaws. A nod from Kaiba later and Twin Headed Thunder Dragon and Blue Eyes Ultimate were doing the same thing, ramming into the Leviathan and seizing its long scaly hide in three sets of sharp teeth.

"Try attacking again!" Yami commanded to Dark Magician and Timaeus. He wasn't stupid. He knew attacking with the Gods while Kaiba and Malik's dragons were at close range would spell death for them. Bakura seemed to see this too, as he nodded at Diabound and Dark Necrofear, but not at Zorc. Vampire Lord joined them in the air as XYZ-Dragon Cannon and Critias launched their own attacks. The magical blasts all struck their target, but the Leviathan was enraged, and thrashed in the grasp of the dragons, its long tail whipping around and striking Felgrand Dragon, throwing the monster off it. A blast of purple energy followed from the Leviathan's jaws, and Felgrand Dragon exploded.

Malik doubled over in pain as the damage from his monsters was mirrored in his own body. Bakura seized his upper arm to keep him from falling to the ground.

"Malik!" Yugi was horrified. "Are you okay?"

"Fine…" Malik growled. "Don't look now, but I think its going to attack again!"

No sooner had he said it, than the Leviathan swung its neck around, latching onto Twin Headed Thunder Dragon and biting down hard. Kaiba's legs gave way as Thunder Dragon roared in pain and was crushed by the might of the Great Beast's jaws.

"Damn it!" Bakura was angry now. "Zorc, attack the Leviathan and blast it back to hell!"

"Wait Bakura!" Yugi shouted in warning, but it was too late. As Zorc prepared a blast of dark magic, the Leviathan plummeted towards the ground. Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, unable to hang on any longer, let go and hovered in the air, as the Great Beast struck the zombie with its falling body, sending it flying all the way into the wall of the castle. Bakura snarled as pain wracked his body.

"That thing is picking us off," he warned.

"Then stop being so pathetic and fight back!" Kaiba barked.

"Who asked you, Priest?" Bakura snapped angrily. The CEO seemed to inflate in anger at being addressed thus.

"XYZ-Dragon Cannon!" Kaiba bellowed. "Use your effect to wipe the Leviathan out!"

Yami repressed a growl. He knew that it didn't matter whether they attacked or used monster effects, it wouldn't defeat the Leviathan. As the machine gave a whirl of gears, and the weaponry blasted at the giant snake-like creature, the Leviathan twisted out of the way, the blast rippling off somewhere into the sky. Another blast of magic followed from the Leviathan's jaws, impacting on the ground in front of Invader of Darkness and Dark Necrofear. Malik and Bakura both winced as their monsters were vaporised.

"No!" Yami was horrified at his friend's pain. "Egyptian Gods, hold the Leviathan off!"

The three monsters did as the Pharaoh instructed, Slifer wrapping its long scaly body around the Leviathan's, in order to prevent it from moving. Obelisk seized its jaws in its powerful arms, and Ra latched onto the tail to prevent it from whipping around and catching more of their monsters by surprise.

"Nice going Rich Boy!" Bakura snarled venomously.

"Yeah, that was one hell of a backfire!" Malik added.

"Not my fault your monsters couldn't get out of the way!" the CEO retorted.

"We need to beat that thing before it picks off all our monsters!" Yami said. "As soon as the castle is clear of stones we can channel the extra magic to our monsters. For now we should work on channelling what we can from our surroundings."

"That Shadow Magic up there," Bakura said, pointing up at the sky. "We can probably channel that too."

"But Shadow Magic doesn't work on the Orichalcos," Ryou objected.

"Doesn't combat the Orichalcos," Yami agreed. "But we aren't using it on the Leviathan. We're using it on our monsters."

Yugi already had his eyes closed, his thoughts turned to the school and their surroundings. The Puzzle seemed to guide him until he could feel the magical energy pulsing in every living part of the area. In every plant and animal he could sense it. There was magic in the sky above their heads. There was more than enough here to defeat the Leviathan.

"_No wonder Yami and Bakura got so much stronger soaking all this up_," he thought.

"Look out!" Ryou shouted suddenly. Above their heads, the Leviathan had somehow ripped its jaws free from Obelisk's grasp long enough to slam its head into the Egyptian God's chest and charge up another attack. This time, it was aiming past the monsters and straight for the bearers themselves.

"Move it!" Bakura barked, and everyone scattered. The attack crashed into the ground, causing everyone to fall forwards painfully onto their faces. Yami pulled himself up and saw over his shoulder, another build up of purple energy.

"Yami!" Malik screamed.

"Pharaoh move!" Bakura shouted, as the attack flew towards Yami, who knelt on the grass, feeling the air around him ripple as the energy raced towards him.

OOO

Back in the Entrance Hall of Hogwarts, the Seal of Orichalcos bathed the whole room in a green light.

Harry hadn't seen clearly, but he was sure it was Lucius Malfoy who had activated the lump of stone this time. He had caught sight of the Death Eater's cold eyes from behind his mask, just before the magic had spread across the room. But he had not had time to worry about it further. If the Seal was out, then everyone in the DA present was in danger of losing their souls, as well as their lives.

It had been Ron who had called the attack, rather than Harry. Harry had then shouted to the group on the staircase, who mostly consisted of the younger students or those who were more proficient at charms. They would cover everyone from above, while the more experienced duellists fought the Death Eaters head on. Everyone had shuddered horribly as the wave of cold magic had swept through the hall, and now they were fighting in earnest, for their school, and those they cared about.

Dodging another curse, Harry wondered how Yugi, Ryou, Malik and their alter egos were holding up. Surely there was not much they could do against the Leviathan. It was just too big and far too powerful looking.

"_I hope they're all right," _the boy who lived thought. _"Whatever they're doing out there."_

The castle was suddenly shaken by another of the Leviathan's attacks…but this time, three identical roars of pain accompanied it, and there was a tremor in the ground as one of the monsters fell, beaten to the ground.

OOO

For the second time in the last hour, Yugi screamed the name of his rival.

"KAIBA!"

Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon crashed to the ground, her roar of pain still echoing in everyone's skulls. At her master's command, she and Kaiba's legendary Knight had stepped in and taken the blast, which would have surely killed the Pharaoh. Critias collapsed next to her, his agony evident in his face. Kaiba himself fell to his knees, clutching his chest, right where Voldemort's curse had struck him earlier. He was too drained to go on any longer. He had no strength left to fight with.

He just had to hope that Yugi knew what he was doing.

"Speak to me Kaiba," Yugi's voice was panicked.

"De…de Fusion…" Kaiba gritted out between his teeth. He knew it was the last thing he could do for his rival in this fight. Three powerful monsters were better than one ultra powerful one. The fallen Blue Eyes gave another moan, which branched off into three identical cries of sorrow as she was broken up into her three fusion material monsters. Each Blue Eyes looked mournfully at Kaiba.

"Don't…don't screw up…Yugi…" Kaiba growled, before his body went limp in Yugi's arms. Beside the fallen Blue Eyes, Critias knelt weakly on the ground, before evaporating into shimmering points of energy.

"Kaiba…" Yugi's voice was faint. Yami pressed a hand to his shoulder.

"Aibou…he'll be fine. We have to save everyone else now."

Yugi nodded, his thoughts scattered and detached. Taking one last look at his rival's face, he set him on the ground and got up, renewed determination on his face.

"Use the Items," he instructed. Bakura and Malik looked over with confused frowns on their faces. Ryou nodded. "Use them to lock onto the school's magic and channel it back into yourselves. Once the castle is free of Orichalcos Stones, the Leviathan's hold will be weaker, and we can channel the magic to our monsters without interference."

"Got it," Malik stated, gripping the Rod and focusing intently.

"Never thought I'd see the day when I'm taking orders from the shrimp," Bakura muttered, but he complied none the less. Yugi joined them, with Yami watching in worry as the Gods struggled with the Leviathan once more.

"_For Kaiba…and everyone in the school. This has to work."_

OOO

Dark Magician Girl shuddered as she flew around the castle. The bodies of the fallen witches and wizards lay on the floor, their eyes staring back at her with empty looks. She tried not to look. She had a job to do.

She could hear squeaks and the sounds of flight as several of the other monsters raided the rooms for every Orichalcos stone in the building. She herself had a collection of them, which she was carrying in her hat, for lack of anywhere else to stash them. She clutched the material fearfully as she head an angry roar from the Great Beast outside. She knew that the Pharaoh and his friends would not hold it off forever. She needed to be swift.

"Dark Magician Girl!"

Petite Angel and Shining Friendship almost ran into her, carrying another stone between them. The spellcaster tossed it into her hat, keeping her eyes peeled for anymore. She caught sight of another, stashed in a crack in the wall and pried it out.

"That's the last one on this floor," she said to her two accomplices. "Follow me!"

If the other monsters had cleared the other floors, she knew just how to dispose of these stones…she just hoped that the battle in the school entrance was being won by the students.

OOO

"Say your prayers!" the Death Eater hissed.

"Stupefy!"

The Death Eater confronting Harry slumped to the ground, his nose breaking against the stone floor as he fell.

"Thanks Neville!" Harry shouted.

"You're welcome!" his friend shouted back.

Harry mentally counted. So far five of the Death Eaters were down, but included among the ones left, was Lucius Malfoy, who had the Seal branded on his forehead like a demented crown. He was unnaturally fast, and his attacks twice as powerful as normal. So far he'd managed to render seven DA members soulless. Now the rest of the students had been forced to stop attacking, and go on the defence in order to protect the fallen from being killed. Unfortunately it also made them more vulnerable, and the remaining Death Eaters had advanced, stunning, disarming, and in some cases, firing killing curses at the now frightened students.

Screams were issuing from Hermione and Ginny's groups, who with all the Death Eaters inside, had returned to the ground floor to help. Due to the Seal however, they were unable to enter and join the fight. Instead they shouted encouragement to their friends, and it was Hermione's shriek that cut through Harry's assessment of the situation.

"Harry! Behind you!"

Whirling around, Harry found himself face to face with Lucius Malfoy, a crazed look in his darkness-tinted eyes. Harry quickly raised a shield charm as Malfoy attacked. The curse shattered his shield, but kept him from taking the brunt of the damage. The insane Death Eater approached, another curse on his lips, before he was struck from behind by a stunning spell. Harry watched in amazement as Lucius slumped to the ground, revealing Draco behind him, wand raised, a shaken look on his face.

"Malfoy…" Harry didn't know what to say.

"You owe me, Potter!" Draco barked, before turning and racing off to help another group of students.

As Harry leaped to his feet and hurried to help Ron and Neville, who were both duelling against a tall man (Macnair, Harry realised) there were several loud pops outside the seal and several duel monsters appeared. Harry recognised the one leading them. It was Dark Magician Girl, the pretty blonde sorceress that Yugi favoured. Several people, including a few of the remaining Death Eaters, looked up at their arrival.

"Now! Cast the stones at the seal!" she cried, tossing the glowing green rocks from her hat. Her fellow Monsters did the same, throwing the stones at the outside of the Seal, where they stuck to the Seal, glowing like lights, sending cracks along the walls.

"Harry!" Ron's voice was yelling. "The stone! Malfoy's stone!"

Harry realised what his friend meant, and dived for the unconscious Lucius Malfoy, ripping the Orichalcos stone from around his neck and throwing it at the seal, just as the magic exploded inwards, crashing down on everyone within.

Harry's vision went white. He could hear the people outside the seal screaming in fear and the people inside screaming with pain. Beside him, he could just make out Lucius Malfoy writhing in pain as the explosion abruptly severed his connection to the Orichalcos. Harry's head hit the stone, and he knew no more.

OOO

The Leviathan writhed and squirmed in the grasp of the Egyptian Gods, snapping viciously at any of the remaining monsters that came near. It charged up energy, and blasted at them, the unlucky ones that got caught in these deadly waves, crumpling to the ground in pain before vanishing. Yet still the Leviathan could not break free from the Gods. But at the same time, they could not damage it.

Yugi cringed heavily as the second Blue Eyes fell to the Leviathan's wrath. Now only one remained, her anger at her slain kin and her master evident in her roars. Dark Magician, the Gods, and Timaeus and Hermos were Yugi and Yami's only monsters left. Malik only had Vampire Lord, and Diabound was Bakura and Ryou's only remaining monster. The battle was getting fiercer, and not just on the ground. Above their heads, columns of lightning, black with shadow magic, had started flying, striking the ground and vaporising everything that came near them.

"This is nuts!" Bakura shouted. "Sooner or later we're going to get hit by one of those things!"

"Just concentrate!" Yami ordered. "Keep channelling."

Bakura growled at the dismissal, but continued. They had amassed a lot of power from the school, building the magic up in their own souls, ready for channelling to their monsters. The Millennium Items glowed with power, locking onto the magic and holding onto it within the souls of their bearers.

Another bolt of lightning struck dangerously close to the Leviathan, who managed to twist out of the way. Slifer however was not so lucky, and roared in pain as the shadows struck its body. Yami and Yugi doubled over as they felt their body get wracked by what felt like a massive electric shock.

"Whoa!" Malik yelped, grabbing Yugi's arm and hauling him upright. "You guys okay?"

"Fine…" Yami gritted out. "Its Slifer I'm worried about…"

As it turned out, Yami should have been more worried about themselves, as the Leviathan took advantage of the pain ridden God to twist out of Ra and Obelisk's grasp and take to the air again. It wrapped between the towers of the school, peeking between the tallest and charging another attack, even as the remaining monsters came after it.

"Shit! Move!" Bakura swore, but there was no escaping this blast, aimed directly at the five of them.

The energy exploded in mid air, as the two remaining Legendary Knights took the blast, their faces contorted in pain.

"Timaeus! Hermos! NO!" Yami screamed, but it was too late. The knights disintegrated into atoms and the blast continued towards the unprotected bearers.

OOO

On the counter of the Game Shop, Solomon Mutou's deck began to glow. The elderly man put the duster and polish down, and carefully picked the top five cards up. He studied them, wondering what was happening now…

In the Domino City Hospital, Joey was looking away from the nurse changing his IV drip, and at his glowing deck on his nightstand. The top card, his favourite, glowed back at him. In the ward outside, Tea, Tristan, Mai and Serenity examined their own cards with curious and slightly fearful looks in their eyes.

With his feet propped against his desk, Mokuba Kaiba tore his eyes away from his computer screen long enough to check the monster that now glowed for his attention. He whispered his brother's name, a hint of fear and wonder in his voice.

Across town, Ishizu had been praying for her brother's safety, along with the safety of all the bearers, so it was Odion who noticed the phenomenon first, in both their decks. He picked his own up cautiously, while Ishizu touched hers almost reverently.

Rebecca was about to call her conversation to Duke to a close, when she felt a warm feeling in her pocket. Simultaneously on the other end of the webcam, Duke raised his deck to his eye level, a frown on his face as their cards glowed in unison.

OOO

* * *

**A/N: **(Bakura kicks the semi-dead Mei, who now has permanent marker on her face) Ra be fucking praised! She's still not moving! (turns and yells out of the room) RYOU! COME LOOK AT THIS! I THINK SHE'S DEAD!

Ryou: (enters) She's not dead Bakura! She's just unconscious again. Probably passed out from shock that she's actually almost finished posting the story.

Bakura: Oh well she's quieter this way. Now I need to do _another _authors note?! (groan) I apparently need to thank Isis the Sphinx for betaing. Why you waste your time with this drivel she calls a fanfic I have no idea…

Ryou: Bakura stop being mean!

Isis: I beta this so I can annoy the heck outta you and dangle the "Do Not Kill" list with my name on it in front of your face.

Bakura: (glares) Ugh! I hate that stupid list! (faces Ryou) And I am mean. Deal, my light. Now what else do I have to tell the readers? Mei is planning on posting the last chapter tomorrow – New Years Day, January 1st 2009. She thought it would be a happy way to ring in the new year, as it were. I think she's insane. Now all that's left is the threats - you mortals review this story or I'll send you to the Shadow Realm! (insert evil laughter here)

Ryou: (prods Mei in the shoulder) Mei-chan? (Mei mumbles something about hot boi smex, but doesn't wake up) Oh my…erm…what do we do?

Bakura: How the hells should I know? Ask Isis!

Isis: Shove a Kit Kat under her nose. But don't get your hand too close, she might bite it off. Or, you can get naked and tell Mei to wake up. That'll work really well. (smirks)

Yugi: What about me?

Isis: You're for later, hun.

Yugi: O.o


	33. Chapter 33: Somewhere to Belong

**Disclaimer: **The rights to YuGiOh belong to Kazuki Takahashi. The rights to Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling.

**Chapter 33: Somewhere to Belong**

Yugi lowered his hand from his eyes and his breath caught in his throat.

Ryou and Malik were shielding their eyes with their hands, looking a little windswept, but unharmed. Yami and Bakura stood over their hikari's shoulders, and frantic questions about their wellbeing were being fired down their respective links. The Leviathan's attack had exploded before it had reached its targets. Lying a little away, Kaiba's unconscious body was also unharmed.

Standing before the duellists, stood a group of duel monsters, all of them ready for battle, their faces showing nothing but hate for the Leviathan, which let out a roar that shook the school upon which it was perched. They were not just any monsters however.

"No way…" Yugi gasped, as Dark Magician found himself standing next to Fire Sorcerer and Super Roboyaro. The spellcaster gave them a thankful nod before turning back to glare at their adversary.

"How did this happen?" Malik asked, his eyes focused on Embodiment of Apophis, who was standing close to Vampire Lord, ready to back the zombie up. Spiria crouched nearby ready to protect everyone at a moment's notice.

"Our friends heard our distress," Yami proclaimed, his eyes wandering up to Red Eyes Black Dragon. Cyber Harpie hovered nearby and below them both stood Goddess With the Third Eye. The lone Blue Eyes gave a happy roar as she was joined by Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8. Fire Princess and Orgoth the Relentless were also present. And towering over all of the group magnificently, was Exodia.

"They're all here!" Ryou said joyfully.

"Do you think this is enough monsters to take that giant lizard down?" Bakura asked.

"Plenty," Yami nodded. "Keep gathering that magic!"

Despite their distraction, the Items had kept locked onto the magic in the area, and were still drawing it into their owners. The newly arrived monsters seemed content to wait and protect their friends, leaving the Gods to bear down on the Leviathan once more.

Slifer was ducking and diving between the towers, snapping at the Leviathan as it got close enough. The Great Beast weaved between the structures, its tail lashing out behind it. The astronomy tower took a beating and bricks rained down on the roof below. Ra took to the air and bored down on the Leviathan from above, preventing it from flying away again, and Obelisk barred its way. The Leviathan was trapped, but it was by no means harmless, as it continued to attack the Gods viciously.

"Are we at infinite yet?!" Bakura barked impatiently.

"Getting there!" the Pharaoh replied. Sure enough, the monsters before them had started to glow as their attack power increased. It felt to Yugi as though they were diverting the flow of a great river towards the monsters. It was slightly overwhelming, but he relaxed as he felt the Pharaoh next to him.

//_Hang on Aibou. Not much longer_//

Around the bearers, shadows began to swarm as they too were absorbed into the flow of magic.

/_Are we sure this is going to work?_/ Yugi asked.

//_If we believe in this magic, and in our friends monsters, than it will work_// Yami said firmly.

"Getting a block here guys," Malik warned. Sure enough, the flow was slowly, as though a dam had been placed in the way.

"That must be the Orichalcos," Yami concluded. "Keep going!"

"Easier said than done!" Ryou pointed out, as the aura of energy around their monsters began to weaken.

"Keep it going!" Yami shouted. "We can do this!"

But it was getting much harder to focus, as the Orichalcos seemed to thicken and pollute the magic that streamed through their bodies and into the monsters. High in the sky, the Gods were tiring too as the Leviathan continued its onslaught. By now the Great Beast didn't seem to care whether it hit God or castle. Bricks and tiles were clattering onto roofs' or the ground with loud crashes, as the Leviathan's attacks were blasted in rapid succession. Ra latched onto the scaly creature in a desperate attempt to keep it down, but the Great Beast merely snaked its head around and bit down on the God's wing. Ra shrieked in pain and Slifer attempted to blast the two apart, only to miss when the Leviathan twisted out of the way once more, sending more bricks through an unfortunate part of the school roof.

"They won't last much longer!" Bakura warned, as Obelisk took a blast to the chest. Yami was wincing every time one of his monsters was struck. Yugi clutched his darker half's arm to stop him from sinking to the ground.

"We're almost there!" Yami shouted, as loudly as his fatigue would let him. He need not have stated this, for all of them could feel the magic of the school and the people in it, filling their souls like water filling shrunken cells. Lightning flew around the three bearers.

No one was quite sure when it happened, but there was a sudden break in the magical flow, and then a flood of it raced through their beings. Malik and Ryou fell to their knees as it overwhelmed them, and Yugi gripped Yami's arm tighter. All the tainted magic of the Orichalcos was gone, which could mean only one thing – Dark Magician Girl had got rid of all the stones. The ground cracked from the strain and light filtered up, surrounding the five of them in a wall of magic.

The remaining monsters glowed as the magic was channelled through the shadows, increasing their attack to infinite proportions. Dark Magician Girl materialised next to the rest of the monsters.

"The stones are gone!" she cried. "Now is your chance!"

"NOW!" Yami barked, and at once all the monsters unleashed their power, striking the Leviathan with everything they had. Magical blasts from Dark Magician and Exodia impacted on the Great Beast's scales, Horus, Red Eyes and the three Blue Eyes unleashed waves of raging flames and white lightning, which caught the Leviathan in the head. Vampire Lord, Diabound Fire Princess, Goddess With the Third Eye, Spiria and Fire Sorcerer struck next, swarms of bats, waves of sonic energy, and streams of fire exploding on the injured behemoth above them. Apophis, Cyber Harpie and Super Roboyaro slashed with blades and talons at the face, causing the Leviathan to roar in pain.

The final blow came form the Egyptian Gods, a tri coloured blast of energy combining between the three and racing towards the Leviathan. The blow ripped the Great Beast in two, specks of what looked like light appearing from the wound, as the captured souls began to pour fourth. The Leviathan gave one last pained roar, but it was a roar of defeat, and the Great Beast crashed back onto the obsidian surface of the lake, and sank beneath the water, the golden orbs of the fallen souls bubbling up to the surface and vanishing off into the air.

The energy dissipated from the monsters, and they faded slowly, one by one, giving each other friendly smiles and nods of thanks before they left. At the same time, the five figures standing by the lake fell to the grass, the magic that had been channelled through their spirits settling and leaving them too exhausted to stand.

OOO

High in the sky, Harry saw the shadows and the aurora retreating. It seemed that fight was over.

He smiled proudly around at the DA, all the while rubbing his head where it had hit the stone floor. Everyone inside the Seal had been unconscious for almost half an hour. By the time they had woken up, Hermione and Ginny's groups that had been outside the Seal, had bound and gagged the Death Eaters, and were working to revive everyone who had been stunned or otherwise injured. All the people who had lost their souls during the fight, had recovered too.

A little way away, Draco Malfoy knelt over his father's disfigured form. Having the stone ripped from his neck, and the magical strain of having the seal shattered by hundreds of Orichalcos stones at once had damaged his soul beyond repair. The elder Malfoy's body was warped and twisted into a creature that was barely recognisable as human. Draco had recognised it however, and sat over the body now, a strange blank look on his face. Harry supposed Draco felt horribly guilty for stunning his father and for in many ways, helping in his death. His mother was bound beside him, but she was not protesting. She seemed to be awaiting whatever her punishment would be, with quiet dignity, that was marred only by her grief for her fallen husband.

Distantly, Harry could hear the sounds of the soulless people in the castle waking up, a quiet rumble of confused voices and footsteps spreading slowly through the corridors.

Hogwarts had returned to life.

OOO

By the time the aurors had arrived, the Death Eaters had been completely rounded up and the various DA members had visited the Hospital Wing and been questioned numerous times by various teachers and Ministry members, it was early morning. Most of the younger students had been permitted to go to bed once the questioning was over, but for Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville, who had led the DA through most of the evening, it was not until six o clock that they were finally allowed to get some rest. And even then, none of them could because they all had so many questions. Ones that sadly could not be answered.

No one knew the exact details of what had happened down by the lake of course, so it was shocking when the exhausted aurors had brought six unconscious bodies of the Japanese teens into the Hospital Wing. No one knew where the two extra people had come from, though Harry, Ron, Hermione and Dumbledore obviously knew exactly who they were. And this of course, presented a whole new set of questions, for neither of the two extra people were supposed to be there.

Eventually however, all six of them had been settled into the Hospital Wing. Neville of course, was entirely out of the loop, and immediately demanded to know who the two people, who bore a striking resemblance to Yugi and Ryou were. Harry had gently stated that it was not for them to discuss their friend's personal lives. Neville looked disappointed, but Harry wouldn't say anything. He had learned the hard way this year that some secrets were best left alone.

"Still…" Ron had said, after Neville had gone to sleep. "How do you think they got here? They don't have bodies in this world."

"It could have been the magic they used to combat the Leviathan," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Maybe it was a side effect or something…"

"We don't know," Harry summarised. "I guess we'll find out when they wake up."

OOO

The creature was aware of one thing instantly.

The pain had stopped.

A burst of magic had flooded through its form, and freed it from its pain. The being let out a shriek of regret. It wanted the pain back! That beautiful pain that had kept it in such a euphoric state. It had been its only source of comfort during its confinement in the Shadow Realm. Whereas it would have driven most people to the brink of insanity, this creature thrived off it, taking immense pleasure from each of the Shadow's assaults. Desperate hands clawed at arms and legs, drawing blood in an attempt to rid itself of the mad craving for hurt, for that release…and then it realised.

It could move.

It was no longer bound by the Shadows imprisonment.

Tentatively, the being got to its feet. It was no longer held…but still it could not escape the Shadow Realm. It would need to be stronger for that. As strong as its thirst for revenge was, the need to recover was greater. It would be stupid to waste its freedom in a reckless move. How it had obtained its freedom, it put out of its mind for now, instead allowing itself to recuperate from its Penalty Game.

"…soon…soon you shall all perish before me…"

And closing its eyes, the being rested.

OOO

Breathing is a reflexive action. It is something that the human body does without thinking, as it is a necessity to survive. While occupying their hikari's bodies, Yami and Bakura had quickly discovered that the bodies continued with reflexive actions, yet they did not feel them. They could take control of their host's, but it was not a true life. They could feel things in their hikari's body, but it was like there was always something there between the skin and their souls, making the sensation distorted.

So when Yami reflexively drew breath into his lungs, and felt the icy cold air pierce through his body and clear his mind, his eyes immediately flew open.

_His _eyes, not Yugi's. Yugi, the Pharaoh saw quickly, was lying in the bed next to him, the sheets rising and falling as he breathed deeply in his sleep. His breaths were separate, and entirely his own…or not, as he started coughing violently. The discomfort in his lungs and throat sent shocks through his system. He could feel things!

As he regained his breath, Yami's eyes widened at this revelation, and he immediately looked down at his hands. There was no translucent image, but pale, solid flesh that could feel the sheets beneath his fingers – actually _feeling. _No distortion, or sense of strangeness, but pure feeling that raced through his nerves.

Excitement welled up inside him, and he slid out of the bed, noting briefly that the hospital gown he wore was very undignified, and making his way to his hikari's bed, ignoring the throbbing headache that appeared in his head as he moved. His hand touched Yugi's shoulder, and for the first time, Yami could actually feel his hikari's warmth.

"Yugi! Yugi! Wake up!"

Yugi felt himself being shaken, by a hand that was unfamiliar, and yet strangely comforting at the same time. His eyes flickered open, and focused on the radiant face of his other half. He blinked in confusion.

"…Yami?"

"Are you alright hikari?" The tiredness in Yugi's eyes, reminded the Pharaoh of just how much they had all been through. His excitement was gone, quickly replaced by worry. Yugi sat up slowly, giving Yami a long, unsure look.

"Erm…I'm fine. Are _you _okay?"

Tentatively, Yami nodded. He certainly felt fine, minus the oncoming headache that was now ringing in his ears…but this definitely was not a normal situation as far as spirits confined to certain Millennium Items were concerned.

"…am I seeing double?" came Malik's voice, laced with shock and confusion of its own. Both Yugi and Yami turned to see their Egyptian friend sitting upright on his own bed, looking between the two as though he could not believe his eyes.

"If you are, then I am too," Yugi assured his friend.

"Yugi…Malik…_Yami?!_" Ryou too sounded as though he were having trouble piecing the situation together. However his eyes quickly landed on the last occupied bed in the Hospital Wing, which was being filled by none other than his own darker half.

"Bakura!" Ryou leaped off his bed, but immediately his legs gave way and he buckled to the floor. Yami was by his side immediately, still trying to ignore the pain in his own skull and helping him up. Yugi and Malik tried to stand, but found that moving much beyond an upright sitting position caused their heads to spin, and so they thought better of it.

"What is going on?" Ryou asked in bewilderment, apparently more than a little disturbed by the fact that Yami was physically supporting him back to the bed. "Why are both of you…solid?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Malik said, folding his arms.

"Would you all keep it down please?" came a croaky voice from the last bed. Bakura's eyes blinked slowly open. Yami fought down a wave of dizziness. He had been standing up too long.

"Yami, get back into bed," Yugi said firmly. "I can feel you have a headache. Why did you get out of bed in the first place?"

"Excitement," Yami said honestly, clambering carefully back into his own bed.

"By the Gods…" Bakura groaned, sitting up straight and wincing as the room span a bit. "The last time I had a headache like this, I was drunk and I broke into the palace…that was an awesome night…"

A wicked grin curled across his face as he recalled the memory.

"I'm going to regret asking this…" Malik said. "But what exactly did you get up to?"

Bakura's grin became even more unholy.

"Let's just say I became very well _acquainted_ with the Pharaoh's harem…" he whistled. "Some of those girls were gorgeous…as were you Pharaoh."

Yami's face turned five shades of red, and he buried his head under the pillow. Through the mindlink, Yugi could hear his dark cursing his lack of memory and his inability to deny or confirm what the Thief King had just said. Ryou rolled his eyes and threw a grape at his darker half, while Malik almost fell off his bed laughing at the Pharaoh's embarrassment.

"D-did that really happen?!" he demanded. Bakura smirked and nodded.

"Okay that's enough!" Ryou said firmly. "Stop embarrassing Yami, Bakura…and stop sending me mental images! God!"

This time it was a pillow that hit Bakura in the face and the thief groaned as his headache became worse.

"What a way to welcome us into the world," he muttered. "Feels like Yugi vs Kaiba in my skull."

Yami's eyes shot open suddenly, and he looked wildly around the Hospital Wing.

"Kaiba! Where is he?"

Sure enough, the grumpy CEO was nowhere to be found.

"You don't think he's…?" Ryou trailed off, his face paling further.

"He's not dead Ryou," Bakura scoffed. "The Shadows would be in disorder if he was. No I reckon he got better and buggered off. Couldn't stand all the 'hocus pocus nonsense' going on around him."

Speaking of hocus pocus nonsense," Malik said, gesturing at Yami and Bakura as he spoke. "Does anyone have any idea how _this _happened?"

"Not a clue," Yugi said honestly. "Yami and Bakura shouldn't even be visible, much less have their own solid forms!"

Just to confirm that they were solid, both Yami and Bakura simultaneously ran their hands over their arms and shoulders. Bakura cautiously traced a finger over his left eye, and found the three scars imprinted there, while Yami ran his hands through his tri-coloured spiky locks.

"I wonder…" Yami said thoughtfully. "If this is a side effect to us beating the Leviathan."

"How?" Bakura asked. "All we did was absorb a bunch of magic and have our monsters throw it at the thing."

"Unless…" Malik muttered, before clapping his hands together. "You two are sponges!"

There was a long silence at this peculiar announcement.

"….you what?" Bakura finally asked.

"Explain yourself please Malik," Yami said patiently.

"Sorry," Malik blushed. "That came out wrong. What I meant is, you guys have been absorbing magic since we arrived at this school haven't you? You've said it yourself, monsters have been easier to summon, your powers have got stronger…all that stuff?"

"Yes," Yami nodded, remembering the first time they had discussed this topic in this very same room after Yugi's duel against Ivan.

"What if absorbing all that power to attack the Leviathan with, boosted your abilities enough to give you a solid form?" Malik finished breathless with his revelation. "Like a sponge filling with water?"

Yami thought about this hard for a second. "It would make sense I suppose. But I had no idea that absorbing the magic from the school would be enough to give us bodies."

"I have a hunch these aren't real bodies," Bakura said shrewdly. "Watch."

And as he spoke, his hand slowly began to vanish into wisps of black shadows.

"Bakura!" Ryou shouted in alarm. "Stop that! It's creepy!"

"Sorry," Bakura apologised, and immediately the shadows reformed into a solid hand on the end of his arm. "But see? They're not real bodies. They're a combination of Shadow magic and a little bit of Wizard magic locked onto our souls. They give us a solid form, but they seem to have their limits."

"So that's why they feel like real bodies," Yami realised. "They're extensions of our souls. That's why we're breathing and blinking, because it's natural to them."

He placed a hand on his chest, and felt his heart beating. It brought a smile to his face.

"Our souls have their own temporary homes."

"But what about the Items?" Ryou asked.

"I doubt we've lost our connection to them," Bakura said. "We will just have to see. There's going to be a lot of trial and error over the next few days I imagine."

"Well this will be fun!" Malik grinned.

"But it's over now?" Ryou asked. "The Leviathan is gone?"

"The Leviathan is gone, but…" Yugi looked at his deck, which was placed on the table by his bed. On top of it was The Eye of Timaeus.

"Timaeus is still here," Yami stated, seeing where his hikari was looking. "I don't think it is completely over yet."

As he finished speaking, the Hospital Wing doors were pushed open slowly…and then they exploded inward with a cheer.

"They're awake!" Ron shouted happily, and Harry and Hermione charged in after him.

"Would you please keep the noise down?" Bakura demanded angrily, rubbing his skull and wishing he had some of those pills that Ryou liked to take when he was in pain.

/_Paracetamol yami_/ Ryou provided.

Malik seemed to read their minds.

"I don't suppose any of you three have pain killers do you?"

"Well that's a nice greeting," Ron muttered.

"No one told us you were up!" Hermione ranted. "And we asked to be kept updated on your progress!"

"Well we literally only woke up about five minutes ago," Ryou pointed out. "Madam Pomfrey hasn't been around yet."

"She touches me and she is going to the Shadow Realm…" Bakura muttered, shoving the pillow over his head. He realised very quickly that this was a bad idea, and immediately began coughing loudly.

"I think," Yami said, trying not to smirk at Bakura's misfortune. "That it's going to take some time for us to get use to being alive again."

"So you two _did _come back to life?" Harry tried to clarify.

"Not really…" Yami said, picking up a grape from the table next to him. "We don't know exactly what happened, but we think Bakura and I might have absorbed a certain amount of different types of magic, which can be solidified into a physical form."

He popped the grape into his mouth and was thrilled that he could chew through the flesh and taste the sweetness. Yugi laughed at the look of bliss on his darker half's face.

"Erm…what?" Ron looked confused.

"In short," Malik grinned. "They're like human sponges. Except instead of water, they soak up magic which makes them solid."

"Okay…I think I get that," Ron frowned.

"Of course it's only a theory," Bakura pointed out. "We could be wrong."

"We'll just have to see," Yugi shrugged. "In the mean time, how is everyone?" He looked worriedly at Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Was anyone hurt?"

"About a third of the DA were rendered soulless," Harry reported. "But they're all fine now. About five people were seriously injured, but they've all mostly recovered. The Death Eaters were quite keen not to kill us before they could knock us out and take our souls."

Yugi, Yami and Ryou relaxed, relieved to know that no one was dead.

"What about the Death Eaters?" Malik asked.

"In Azkaban," Hermione stated. "All except Lucius Malfoy. When the Seal was shattered…"

"Who did that?" Yami interrupted.

"Dark Magician Girl," Harry said, in an unsure tone. "I don't know what she was doing there…"

"We do," Yami nodded. "Sorry for interrupting."

"Well when the Seal was shattered," Hermione continued. "His whole body began to mutate. It was horrible," she shuddered. "In the end we didn't recognise him anymore. The Ministry had to identify him by his wand."

"Is he…?" Ryou trailed off. Their fellow Gryffindors nodded.

"They're not sure, but they think the shock was too much for his system. He's not just dead. His soul is completely gone, and it didn't come back like the others."

Yami and Yugi exchanged dark looks. They could hazard a guess at what had happened. It was the same type of mutation that had happened to the Death Eater outside the Game Shop at Easter, and that had befallen the citizens of Atlantis. But the impact of having all the stones break the Seal must have ripped the soul it was tied to apart – namely Lucius Malfoy's. He hadn't just lost his soul. It had been scattered into atoms.

"How's Draco coping?" Malik asked. Harry looked surprised.

"Well…" Ron filled in. "We haven't really seen much of him since the attack…"

"You haven't even asked him how he's doing?" Malik asked in disbelief, before rolling his eyes. "Dear Ra…do you know how he must be feeling right now?"

Harry was thoughtful. He did know how Malfoy must be feeling, because he had felt it himself a number of times. Truthfully he had been meaning to seek out the Slytherin for a while now, but his concern for the Japanese students had driven that out of his mind. He guessed from the look on Ron and Hermione's faces that they had not thought about Malfoy at all.

"I'll find him later," he promised, taking Ron and Hermione by surprise. "I've been meaning to anyway."

Malik frowned and really wished he could get out of bed and find the Slytherin himself. But his head throbbed again, and he settled back down on the mattress instead.

"Good…because I don't think any of us will be moving for at least a day…channelling all that energy was tiring."

"Exactly what did you do to that giant snake thing?" Ron asked. "Because whatever it did knocked you out pretty good."

"In short," Ryou said. "We drew magic from the school and the surrounding area into our own bodies, fed it into our duel monsters and used it to increase their attack so that they were strong enough to defeat the Leviathan."

"Wow…" Harry said. "That _was _short."

"You absorbed magic from the school?" Hermione breathed. "I didn't think that was physically possible!"

"And when does anything involving us constitute as physically possible?" Bakura grunted.

"True," Hermione conceded. "But still, that amount of energy must have been…incredible."

"It was," Yugi smiled. "And our friends were there to help, which made it all the more stronger."

"We need to contact them," Ryou said. "Find out how Joey is. I'm sure he must have woken up…Red Eyes was there at the end after all."

Ryou was drifting off to sleep again, and Bakura frowned as he noticed this.

"Go back to sleep Ryou…we're all tired I think…"

He yawned in a cat-like manner and squished the pillow into a more comfortable shape.

"We'd better let you get some more rest," Hermione said briskly. "We'll come back and visit later."

"I'm not tired," Malik said, waving a hand.

"Speak for yourself," Yami muttered. "I'm going to see if this headache goes away with rest…"

"We'll let Madam Pomfrey know you were awake on our way out," Ron suggested, as Yugi yawned and curled up under the sheets again.

/_Sleep well Yami…_/

Yami grinned, before a thought occurred to him.

"Hey…" he said slowly, causing the Gryffindor's to stop at the doorway. "What date is it today?"

"June the fourth," Harry stated. "Why?"

Yami smiled.

"Happy birthday Aibou."

Cracking open one eye, Yugi grinned. To have his other half giving him a radiant smile while he said those words, was the best present ever.

OOO

Harry, Ron and Hermione were still grinning when they left the Great Hall after dinner that evening. They had informed the rest of their classmates that the Japanese students were awake, and they had immediately been badgered by people wanting to know if they were alright, when they would be getting out, would they be coming back to the school, and who the two extra guests were. The three friends had answered or deflected the questions calmly, feeling relieved enough just to have everything back to normal.

It was leaving dinner, that they spotted Malfoy making his own way into the hall. The Slytherin nodded at them before hurrying along, and Harry remembered his promise to Malik.

"Hey Malfoy…" Harry faltered slightly. He was still not quite ready to go and start addressing the Slytherin by his first name.

"Potter?" Malfoy looked surprised at being approached, and Harry felt very awkward.

"Just thought you'd like to know…Yugi, Ryou and Malik woke up this afternoon."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow, obviously confused as to why Harry was telling him this.

"Malik was asking after you," Harry filled in quickly.

"Oh…I see," Malfoy was frowning now, before his face cleared up and he looked…almost happy. "Thanks. Are they okay?"

"Yeah…had headaches from hell, by the sounds of it," Harry explained. "But they're fine."

"…and these rumours about the extra people?" Malfoy asked curiously. Harry nodded.

"We don't quite understand it," he admitted. "But yeah, the Pharaoh and Bakura are, kind of…_real_ now."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow.

"And Bakura being the thief…interesting…you'd better keep an eye on your belongings then Potter. I'd just _hate _for your broomstick to go missing. I'd like at least some challenge when we next play Quidditch."

Maybe it was the tone he said it in, but that threat didn't sound malicious. In fact, Harry realised, it could almost pass for friendly banter, in whatever weird way he or Malfoy could ever say anything remotely friendly to each other.

"You keep dreaming Malfoy," he said, turning on his heel, but allowing himself to smirk a little. "You just keep dreaming."

Malfoy smirked back and headed in the hall for dinner. Harry shook his head and continued on towards the staircase. His friends followed, Ron looking mildly flabbergasted, and Hermione looking as though she were repressing the urge to smile.

It was the weirdest and most awkward conversation Harry had ever had.

But it was a conversation…and that was a start.

OOO

The Japanese students were discharged from the Hospital Wing the next day, after Madam Pomfrey was absolutely sure that they were in no more danger of exhausting themselves. She had seemed rather keen to get rid of them, and had shooed them out of the doors once they were dressed and had gathered their gifts together. This may have been due to the fact that she found Yami and Bakura just a little bit unsettling. The second time the group had woken up, it was to find Madam Pomfrey screaming in terror, as Yami and Bakura had literally vanished from their beds, right under her nose, vaporising into shadows that disappeared into thin air. Yugi and Ryou had instantly checked their Items, and found the spirits sleeping comfortably in their soul rooms. After a long sleep, both of them were able to reappear again.

"So we can't hold the solid forms indefinitely," Yami had concluded, as they filled in Harry, Ron and Hermione as they left the Hospital Wing. "At a guess, I'd say we have to return to our soul rooms to rest every twenty four hours or so. Recharging our magic, if you will."

"You're still tied to us then?" Yugi said. He hadn't admitted it, but he had been wondering, if now that Yami and Bakura had a solid form, if they would want to stick around. Yami smiled, sensing his hikari's worry.

"And I wouldn't have it any other way Aibou," he said honestly. Yugi beamed back. Bakura just grunted at the affectionate display, but he had exchanged a quick smile with Ryou. It was enough for the hikari. Bakura would not be leaving him anytime soon. Ryou had to smile at how far things had come in the last year. Until recently he would have been terrified at the thought of his yami having a solid form. But now, it made him happy that Bakura could have more freedom, even listening to him grumble was pleasant.

"It's still so…weird," Ron said, poking Bakura in the arm. The thief glared, and his knife appeared out of nowhere, leaping into its master's hand obediently. Ryou rolled his eyes, and swore that if Bakura hurt anyone, he would be sorry. Ron yelped and jumped backwards in alarm, almost knocking Hermione into the wall.

"If you think it's weird, how do you think we feel?" Ryou pointed out.

"It's true though," Harry said. "I mean up until a few months ago, we didn't know you guys existed. Now you're…here. You're real…I mean you were real before but…"

"You're confusing yourself Harry," Hermione said gently, while Malik and Bakura snickered.

"I think what you meant," Yami said patiently, "is that we seem more alive to you three now."

"Yeah but you were alive before…weren't you?" Ron asked.

"No, we were dead," Bakura corrected. "But the soul never dies. The life we have now isn't really being alive either though. If you define being alive as being able to interact with the world around you, then we are alive. But if you define alive by aging or growing up, then we are dead. The Pharaoh and I will never age, even in this form."

"So then…you're somewhere in between?" Hermione guessed.

"I suppose," Yami shrugged. "I doubt we will ever know for sure. For now, Bakura and I should just be grateful that we can appear like this."

"Can you still take over Yugi and Ryou though?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Yes," Bakura nodded. He had tried to take over Ryou's body earlier, and it had worked. The link between the yami's and hikari's had been in no ways damaged by absorbing so much magic.

"Hmm…somehow I thought since you have your own forms now, you would lose access to their bodies or something," Harry shrugged.

"Hey, when Voldemort returned you didn't lose your connection did you?" Malik pointed out.

"That is true…" Harry realised. "But are you still…"

"About time we found you dweebs!"

Everyone's heads snapped forwards. Standing at the end of the corridor, with his arms folded, and a disapproving frown on his face, was Seto Kaiba. But he was not alone.

"Joey!" Yugi was tearing down the corridor and tackling his best friend around the middle, while the blonde just laughed.

"Alright Yug'? Rich Boy said you were still in hospital."

"Just got out today," Yugi replied, stepping backwards and allowing Tea to sweep him into a tight hug too. Yugi could feel his face turning red, and he heard Yami chuckle in the back of his mind.

/_Not a word, Other me!_/

//_If you insisted Aibou. But I can't vouch for…_//

"Oh please…someone get me a bag. I'm going to hurl," Bakura muttered. Ryou shot him a silencing glare, before following Malik and approaching the group too.

"We were so worried!" Tea said, releasing Yugi enough to look him in the eye. "Kaiba said you were still unconscious after your fight with the Leviathan."

"We're all fine," Yugi assured her. "Well…after a fashion."

He looked over his shoulder. Tea followed his glance, and her eyes went wide as they locked onto Yami and Bakura, standing back and watching the scene quietly beside Harry, Ron and Hermione, who were not really sure if they should move along or not. Tristan and Joey looked up from greeting Ryou and Malik, and their jaws fell open at the sight of the two visible spirits.

"Oh great," Kaiba muttered, upon seeing the solid looking doubles. "I'm…"

"Hallucinating again?" Joey finished, almost automatically. Kaiba glared at him.

"Whatever, I'm out of here."

And he swept from the corridor, trench coat flaring out behind him.

"Well excuse us, Rich Boy," Joey grumbled.

"Maybe we shouldn't have nagged him to bring us here so much," Tristan pointed out.

"Uh, you two nagged him," Tea corrected. "I was all for taking the wizard fireplaces to get here."

Both boys shuddered.

"Yeah, no thanks. I'm not all that keen to go stand in some fireplace," Joey muttered, before turning his attention back to Yami and Bakura. "So…does anyone want to explain?"

"You mortals can," Bakura said, tossing his spiky hair over his shoulder and stalking back the way they had come. "I am going to stretch my legs. It has been five thousand years after all."

And he marched off.

"Bakura's still…" Tristan looked unsure on how to phrase the end of that question.

"Difficult?" Yami provided, approaching cautiously. He was worried about the reaction he would get from the rest of the gang – after all, they were primarily Yugi's friends. He would never have known them if not for his aibou.

/_Not they're not Other Me_/ Yugi corrected through the open mind link. /_They're _our_ friends. Mine and yours_/

"I was going to say, an ass," Tristan shrugged.

"Meh, that works too," Joey stated, before giving Yami a slap on the shoulder. "Good to see you Pharaoh."

"Likewise," Yami smiled.

"Let's go for a walk," Yugi suggested. "You guys can explain to us how you got here and we will tell you what's been happening in the last few days."

"Including why the Pharaoh and Bakura aren't all ghosty anymore?" Joey asked. He received a light slap on the arm from Tea for his lack of tack and Yugi laughed. He had missed moments like this, and he never wanted to be apart from them again.

OOO

Just over an hour later, it was well into the afternoon, and the students of Hogwarts were firmly stuck into their lessons. Since they were not technically students any longer, Yugi, Yami, Ryou and Malik sat with their friends in the deserted courtyard, and were finishing up their explanations. The grim darkness that the Orichalcos had brought, had vanished from the school, and the sun was beating down on their backs and heads. It was welcome relief to the cold chill that had been going around recently.

Malik had got bored of the story telling, and so he excused himself, got up and gone for a wander around the castle. He was whistling the few bars he knew of a song that he wasn't sure the name of over and over to himself, when he rounded the corner and ran into Bakura – literally.

"Ow! Careful Ishtar! You'll damage my horde!"

Malik looked at the bundle of robes in Bakura's arms and his eyebrows arched into his hair.

"So this is what you're doing with your new lease of life?" he asked. "Thieving from the school?"

Bakura snorted. "No. I'm thieving from little children."

He pulled back the robes to reveal a hefty stash of dungbombs. A devious grin spread across Malik's face.

"Where were you planning on dropping those, may I ask?" he inquired. Bakura smirked evilly.

"Follow me, my accomplice and you will find out."

OOO

Yugi had to admit, that when they hadn't been part of the drama, Joey, Tristan and Tea made a very good audience. They had sat their with their mouths hanging open in various combinations of terror, awe and disbelief throughout the whole retelling of the battle against the Leviathan. Joey had scowled all through the duel with Angus and Raquel, as his own bad memories of the pair of Death Eaters were brought to the front of his mind again. Explaining what had happened in the Dominion of Souls had been complicated because they had all been separated, and Tea had screamed when Ryou had explained about how they all thought Kaiba had died.

"He never told us that!" Tea had shrieked indignantly.

"Probably didn't want to admit that he had almost died," Tristan said. "Kaiba kinda likes to believe he's invincible."

Yami was just explaining how he and Bakura were able to conjure up their own solid forms, when there were a series of loud screams from the third floor. Being in the courtyard, the sound travelled to the ears of all present.

"What was that?!" Yami leaped to his feet immediately, the eye of Horus glowing on his head.

"Bakura!" Ryou exploded suddenly, as he caught a hint of what had just happened down the mind link. Everyone jumped. They had never heard him shout that loudly before. "Get down here before Snape kills you!"

//_Like he could!_// was the yami's response.

"Damn Tomb Robber," Yami cursed, sitting down, feeling a little embarrassed that he had reacted so hastily. Joey and Tristan were trying not to grin, and Tea just gave the Pharaoh a reassuring smile.

"What have they done?" Yugi asked Ryou. Above their heads, there was a rumble of footsteps coming from the third floor, and the sounds of much choking.

"Dungbombs in the Defence Against the Dark Arts class," Ryou was scowling. Joey and Tristan doubled over in silent fits of laughter, and a smile was appearing at the corner of Tea's mouth too. Yami was glaring viciously at a caterpillar that happened to be scaling the wall nearby, as though it had been responsible for the chaos. Yugi was also trying not to laugh, and when he and Tea caught each others eyes, neither of them could hold it in any longer, and joined Joey and Tristan in a loud round of hysterics.

"It's not funny!" Ryou spluttered at his highly amused friends. "If Snape catches them I'll be the one in trouble! Everyone thinks Bakura is me!"

"Everyone who doesn't know," Yugi pointed out. "And besides, we aren't technically students anymore, so they can't punish us for anything."

"Snape is still going to kill them!" Ryou said.

"Au contraire hikari," came a low voice from behind him. Ryou yelped and whirled around to see Bakura standing there with a smirk all over his face. "I would love to see that overgrown bat catch us when he's currently trying to get his classroom air breathable again."

"And besides!" Malik said, popping up from nowhere next to Bakura. "We just got Harry, Ron and Hermione out of that class!"

"Suddenly…seeing you two, I fear for my life," Tristan said honestly.

"So you should do Taylor," Bakura said, folding his arms. "So you should do."

OOO

It wasn't until the next morning when Seto Kaiba entered the castle again.

He had spent the remainder of the previous day flying to the nearest airport, refuelling and flying back to the castle. He had been annoyed to discover that his laptop refused to work when within range of the school, and so he had waited out the time while his plane refuelled by wading through the work that had accumulated in his few days of running about with Yugi and his friends. He hated the build up of things for him to do that always seemed to come about when he got dragged into one of Yugi's adventures.

He sighed in a rare show of emotion as he entered the Entrance Hall. It was the sad truth. No matter how much he tried to distance himself from Yugi (even when the shrimp was on the other side of the damn world) he still managed to get drawn into his rival's magical conflicts. He twitched. He had just thought that hated 'M' word.

His views on that nonsense that Yugi sported had been challenged to extremes over the last few days. He hated that he was currently standing in a school that supposedly taught that hocus pocus rubbish to students. He hated that the geek squad were explaining how they fell unconscious in the chamber as being transported to another dimension. And he hated remembering that he – Seto Kaiba – had somehow blocked an attack that should have killed him, by a means that he himself was unsure of.

_It was magic that helped Negate Attack to appear, as Mirror Force had done for Yugi in the park last summer…_

_No it wasn't! Magic does not exist!_

Then how did he explain Yugi and Ryou's doubles?

…He couldn't.

And that pissed him off even further.

He growled, and fought to stop himself from hitting the wall. Instead he glared at a group of boys who were heading through the door on the left, from which a great deal of noise was emerging. He suspected he would find Yugi and the rest of his little friends in there. He should go tell them that he was flying back to Japan today…

So why was he hesitating outside the door?

It wasn't like he was afraid of them.

He just didn't want to see their doubles because…

_Because I might just end up acknowledging them._

If there was one thing that Kaiba hated more than this whole situation, it was admitting that he was wrong.

Being wrong, meant making a mistake. And Seto Kaiba did not make mistakes! He was in control of everything in his life!

"You're looking very frustrated Seto Kaiba."

Kaiba snapped out of his mental rant to see a smiling old man standing at the foot of the staircase with a good natured twinkle in his eye. Kaiba recognised him immediately. It was the wizard who had visited him in the middle of the night a year ago, and offered him the invitation to join his school – this school. The CEO was quite sure he would never forget the way the man had just appeared in the middle of his office at two in the morning.

"I am not frustrated," Kaiba said, as coolly as he could. "I was looking for Yugi."

Dumbledore inclined his head to the doorway on the left. "I believe they will be with the rest of the school, having breakfast. Will you be joining them?"

Kaiba snorted. "Unlikely. I have better things to do with my time than endure the company of those geeks. I was going to tell them that I'm going home in an hour, and if they want a free flight…"

He trailed off suddenly. Why was he explaining himself? It was none of this old man's business why he wanted to find Yugi. Yet the strange man, in plum coloured robes, standing before him with a disturbingly serene smile on his face, had an alarmingly strange way of disarming the CEO of his most snappy retorts. It was unnatural, and Kaiba didn't like it.

"I see," the headmaster said. "A shame…"

"What?" Kaiba asked, folding his arms.

"I was rather hoping they would return to us for the last month of school," Dumbledore admitted. "It seemed the least we could offer considering all they have done for us."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Well if I have my way, they will be on my jet within an hour, so tough luck."

He strode purposefully toward the doors of the Great Hall, but Dumbledore's voice stopped him.

"I should thank you too Seto." Kaiba twitched. No one but Mokuba could call him Seto! And yet Dumbledore was continuing. "You helped save my school and my students…"

"Save it," Kaiba cut him off, not caring how rude he was being. "A little help to Yugi and his friends saved me from enduring several annoying friendship rants."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "Ah I see…"

"See what?" Kaiba demanded.

"How your relationship with them works."

"It is _not _a relationship!" Kaiba snarled, his carefully controlled anger beginning to rear its head.

"Oh but it is," Dumbledore said firmly, his eyes now no longer cheerful. "You might not want to see it, but it is a relationship – one that does not flourish to the best, I will admit – but it works for you and Yugi quite well."

"You know nothing," Kaiba glared. "I would happily…"

He stopped. He was going to say "_happily have them out of my life for good" _but he just couldn't say it. The words would not come out of his mouth. Dumbledore's smile reappeared slightly.

"You would happily keep that relationship for the rest of your life – and that is the truth. No matter how much discomfort it may cause you."

His face regained its normal smile, and he turned and faced the Great Hall.

"Yugi, Ryou, Malik and their other halves may have had some good times in this school, but I can see now that where their hearts lie are with their friends, in Japan…with you Seto."

Kaiba twitched again at the use of his given name, _and _at the mention of Yugi and Ryou's other selves. "You know nothing," he sneered, before striding out of the Entrance Hall, and back outside the castle. Dumbledore shook his head sadly at the young man who had just stormed out of his school, forgetting his mission to seek out Yugi and his friends.

"Run from the truth for too long Seto, and soon it will vanish forever."

OOO

"_Dear Ryou –_

_I'm sure your school must have told you by now that I have recovered. Because of the severity of the tomb collapse though, the rest of the excavation has been called off until we can ascertain whether it is safe to begin again. I have also been granted recovery leave for two months, before I am expected back on excavations._

_I have decided to spend my leave in England, since travelling all the way back to Japan will be a greater amount of hassle. It will also give me a chance to catch up on the paperwork I have missed. If you are still in England at the end of term, I shall look forward to having you stay with me for the holidays._

_All the best._

_Your Father."_

"Father my arse!" Bakura snorted, causing everyone at the breakfast table to turn and give him weird looks.

"Bakura…" Ryou chastised gently.

"What?" Bakura retorted. "He is! The ass doesn't even know you're not at this school anymore!"

Yugi and Yami respectfully tried not to listen, but it wasn't hard to guess who the letter was from, or why Bakura was reacting this way. Harry, Ron and Hermione didn't want to say anything, just in case they set the volatile King of Thieves off, but they too could guess the reason for Bakura's irritation. Tristan and Tea were looking worried that Bakura would start having psychotic urges, and tensed, ready to duck under the table if the need became necessary. Joey had paused in shovelling food into his mouth to listen, and was also scowling darkly. Neglectful parents were a very sore spot for him after all.

Ryou didn't know how to feel. The letter had been short and very uncomfortable to read. And he knew his father must have felt uncomfortable writing it. Not only did they rarely speak anyway, but his father had just woken up from, what was being hailed as, a six month coma. And now he wanted him to stay over the holidays? That would be the most awkward way to spend the summer.

"You're still coming back to Japan right?" Yugi asked urgently, and Ryou felt a surge of affection for his vertically challenged friend. He did want to go back to Japan, desperately. As strange as it was, that city had a sense of belonging and normalcy (well, as normal as Ryou's life ever got) attached to it. He felt like he belonged there…at least now he did. The last year had changed everyone. He was much closer with Yugi and Malik now, and there was no denying he had a better connection with Bakura. He didn't want to be separated from everything good in his life.

"Of course I am," he said. Yugi looked relieved, and Malik gave a whoop of joy. Bakura was trying not to smirk, but it was still clear that he was thrilled not to have to spend time in the presence of his hikari's father.

"I never thought I would see the day when Bakura looked happy at the prospect of spending more time the Pharaoh's company," Malik snickered. Yami too, had a grin on his face, and Bakura just smirked.

"Why not?" he shrugged. "I can't kick the Pharaoh's arse if I'm half way across the world!"

Yami's grin became challenging. "Keep telling yourself that Bakura."

The thief glared and threw fried egg at Yami. Hermione tittered as the Pharaoh ducked and the egg splattered onto her newspaper. She went back to scanning it intensely.

"Any news?" Harry asked. Hermione shook her head.

"Not a thing," she said. "No one seems to know what happened to Voldemort after we left him in the chamber – not even the Death Eaters who were captured at the school. Some people in the Ministry are saying he's dead."

"He's not," Harry shook his head, for he was sure he would know if the Dark Lord had perished. "I reckon he's laying low."

Everyone else nodded, but Bakura was thinking. He had another theory on the Dark Lord's disappearance, but he did not want to share it in case he was wrong. He had sensed something in the Shadows that had been different ever since the battle with the Leviathan. It could have just been a build up from all the stress the realm had undergone lately, but then it had occurred to him that the fight in the chamber at Kul Elna had been a Shadow Game. It was possible therefore that the Shadows had taken the loser for a Penalty Game. There was no way to check this for sure however, and he was quite content to leave it alone. If Voldemort was suffering, all the better for the world, and if he was laying low, he would be very much weakened now that the Orichalcos had taken such a heavy hit. Either way, they would deal with the Dark Lord if he became a threat again.

At this point, Seto Kaiba strode down the Great Hall, ignoring the stares he was getting from the rest of the student body. Yugi, Ryou and Malik's fangirls immediately shrieked at the top of their lungs, but at a glare from the CEO, they fell silent like a pack of frightened animals.

"Damn…" Joey muttered. "Wish I could do that…"

"Morning Kaiba," Yugi said with a smile. Kaiba just grunted, and drew a deep breath.

"I'm here to tell you geeks that if you aren't on the jet in an hour, I'm taking off without you."

No one was quite sure how Kaiba had managed to find Hogwarts again, let alone fly one of Kaiba Corp's executive jets there without it crashing. Even if he could have found the place, the jet's electronics should have died as soon as they got close to such a magically dense environment. Yet somehow, the pristine titan of engineering was parked by the side of the lake, furthest away from the school, looking no worse for wear than it would have had it just flown around the globe.

Yami had a hunch however that the CEOs magic had played a part in their friend's arrival. He just had to look at Kaiba's aura to see that the previous battle had done wonders for his abilities…even if he wouldn't admit it. They had already proven over the course of their visit to Hogwarts that Shadow magic and electronics were compatible, so somehow, Kaiba must have kept the aircraft in one piece in time to land it.

Yami was also amused as he noticed how Kaiba was resolutely ignoring him and Bakura. It seemed he would still be the same stubborn, cynical CEO, even if he had almost died in Egypt.

"Say what?!" Joey demanded. "You expect us to be ready to go in an hour?!"

"Yes I do," Kaiba confirmed. "Did your dog sized brain comprehend that statement properly Wheeler?"

"Shut your mouth!" Joey snapped. "I am not a dog!"

"Leave it Joey," Tea said firmly, as Tristan seized the blonde around the waist to stop him from leaping over the table and throwing breakfast cereal at Kaiba.

"Damn…a fight would have amused me," Bakura muttered. Ryou kicked him under the table.

"Thanks for the offer Kaiba," Yugi said. "But since we technically never left the country…"

"Immigration has been dealt with," Kaiba replied in a bored voice.

"With a few well placed bribes," Tristan muttered.

"So we're going home then?" Ryou asked eagerly.

"In one hour," Kaiba repeated, before turning on his heel, his trench coat billowing out behind him. Yami noticed with interest how the CEO's sapphire eyes flickered towards Dumbledore, before narrowing in anger, and he wondered what the headmaster had done to rile his rival up so much. Kaiba strode from the hall, leaving several swooning fangirls in his wake.

"Rich boy really knows how to ruin a meal," Joey muttered, pushing his food away. Ron eyed it hopefully, before seizing one of the leftover sausages when Joey wasn't looking.

"So…this is goodbye?" Hermione asked sadly.

"Yeah, we guess so," Yugi nodded. "We'll miss you guys."

"Its going to be weird not seeing you for so long," Malik added.

"What do you mean?" Joey frowned at them all. "You'll see them soon."

"Huh?" Bakura asked stupidly, a rasher of bacon half way to his mouth. Joey rolled his eyes.

"Did you all forget?" he asked. "The World Championships are in London this summer."

There was a long silence, and then Malik gave a snort of laughter.

"Damn…I _had_ forgotten!"

"So you'll be back over the summer?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Seems so!" Yugi was grinning widely now. "We'll have to meet up!"

"Yeah, you guys can come cheer us on!" Joey nodded enthusiastically.

"Spending the summer at an internationally based competition?" Hermione said slowly. "Why does this sound like the Quidditch World Cup all over again?"

"Oh don't be so worried Hermione," Ron shrugged. "What can possibly happen at a Duel Monsters Tournament?"

At this, the Japanese people exchanged looks before bursting into laughter.

"What did I say?" Ron asked in a bemused manner.

"Nothing Ron…" Ryou shook his head, before standing up. "I guess we'd better get going if we want to catch our flight."

Hermione immediately engulfed Malik and Yugi into a hug, making them swear that they would write to them. Yami hastily backed away and headed towards the staff table. He stopped before Dumbledore, who was looking at him with a knowing twinkle in his eye.

"We are leaving," the Pharaoh said simply. Dumbledore inclined his head.

"I had summarised Pharaoh," he indicated the stream of goodbyes now being called to Yugi, Ryou and Malik. "I believe Hogwarts is forever in the debt of you and your friends. I don't think I need to tell you that you are all welcome back here."

"Maybe someday," Yami nodded. "We shall return. For now, we have a home to return to."

"As everyone should," Dumbledore said. "Thank you for all your help."

"No thanks needed Headmaster," Yami stated. "Being welcomed into this world and all the opportunities it has given us is all the thanks we could ask for."

He bowed briefly to Dumbledore before turning and heading back to the Gryffindors. Yugi had escaped the hugging session and smiled as Yami stood beside him.

"Okay Hermione…air would be greatly appreciated!" Ryou said, as his lungs were squeezed by a now tearful looking Hermione.

"Stop strangling my hikari, you daft woman!" Bakura snapped, wrenching Ryou out of Hermione's grasp, and giving her a look that said quite clearly '_hug _me _and you die!'_

"We'll write to you when we get back," Malik said firmly.

"Make sure you do," Harry said.

"Ready to go everyone?" Joey called, he and Tristan and Tea already by the door of the hall.

"Yeah," Yugi nodded, sharing another smile with Yami. "We're ready!"

And waving at all the students, the group left the Great Hall, and began their long journey back where they truly belonged.

OOO

_Some stories end with a beginning._

_Others begin with an end._

_The end of this year has come. The story has been told. But not everything is clear. Just as no destiny is set in stone, now conclusion comes so easily._

_The darkness is beaten…but it has not gone._

OOO

_~End of Book One~_

_Start date: _27th June 2007

_Publication date:_ 18th July 2007

_Finish date: _8th November 2008

_Last entry posted: _1st January 2009

* * *

**A/N: **And it's FINISHED!

(The cast of the story appear, popping party poppers, bottles of champagne, blowing party whistles and cheering)

Gah! Bakura! Not the face! I've got champagne in my eyes! Ryou I love you too but please get off me! Yugi! No tackle glomping! Oooff!

(finally detangles herself from her excitable cast of characters)

Okay first things first – I know now that this story is finished, you all want to know about the sequel (you're an impatient lot, aren't you?). I did leave a few loose ends in this story (like the mysterious person who was putting the stones in the castle) unanswered. These _will_ be dealt with in the sequel.

I have started writing. However the chapters won't be posted for ages. The main reason is this. I've decided I want to do postgrad after I get my BA. Of course _getting _my BA hinges on the next six months. I still have another three modules to complete, and I need to get my dissertation up to a good standard (I'm aiming for a 2.1). So I've decided during the next six months, my degree comes first.

In essence, the sequel is going to be a long time in coming – definitely nothing before May when my dissertation is due in. And to be honest, I need a break. I need to go back to just writing for myself, with no deadline looming over my head like an ominous rain cloud. It'll definitely do me some good to have some time off, and then I can work on Magic Monsters Dominions and Destiny at a more relaxed pace.

Anyway, enough about the next one, let's wrap up this one!

This story started out as a summer project when I randomly decided to jump on the crossover bandwagon. I never expected it to turn into something bigger, and I've loved every second of writing it. I have a million people without whom this fic could never have come about, and who I must give thanks to.

First off, to all my reviewers, and all those of you who just dropped in to read and didn't bother reviewing (and I KNOW you're out there! I see you all on my Reader Traffic! Yes even you people in Brazil! I see you all!).

To Hakurei Ryuu, Phate Phoenix, and ahilty, who's concrit has meant so much, and who's own stories have been a phenomenal source of inspiration.

To MyAibou for letting me borrow cards/card specs, and who's work continually reminds me of the beauty of this fandom.

To MutouMiriku and MichaelDJ54 who have kept me motivated and highly inspired more than I can say.

To DuelistBlake1852 for proof reading all my duels, and for just sitting and listening to me ramble like the crazy fangirl I am.

To Isis the Sphinx, for being an amazing beta, for putting up with my constant butchering of the English language, and overall, for being a great friend.

To Emmersonne and Yuallica, who for the past year and a half have put up with me locking myself in my room and refusing to come out and do the dishes until I had done another five hundred words.

Finally and most especially, to Mearle for lifting me up high, and to Tai for bringing me back down gently. You two are the most awesome sisters ever. You've been supporting me ever since I started writing, and you continue to do so now. Thank you both.

It's been a long, mad year for me. There have been a lot of highs and a lot of lows, but I can safely say, finishing this story goes on my highs list.

Happy New Year everyone!


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